Alec Benjamin, courtesy Matty Vogel.

More than two years ago, singer-songwriter Alec Benjamin watched the world swirl in disarray through his television as the pandemic unfolded, which would not only lead to the cancelation of about 150 tour dates, but also leave the now 27-year-old to face and overcome his inner anxieties.

“It’s like this big time warp, like you went through a black hole,” Benjamin said in a recent phone interview.

While the string of distressing world events left Benjamin soul-searching, the situation led him to inner transformations that ultimately brought him to create his sophomore album, (Un)Commentary, which he described as reflecting “a more mature version” of himself.

Over the course of a month, Benjamin’s feelings of disheartenment were pushed out onto the keys of his parents’ piano as the These Two Windows singer worked tirelessly to write and produce (Un)Commentary, which explores his own unique views and quite literally provides an “uncommon commentary” as he interprets the changing world and how it impacts his own life.

In past songs, he’s often presented his own life experiences through fictional characters.

Alec Benjamin performs at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 24, 2019. Norm deVeyra/STAFF.

“I’m taking more risks and talking about subject matters I haven’t explored in my music, and I’m still telling stories, but I’m not using characters as much,” Benjamin said. “By using characters in a story as a tool, I didn’t have to necessarily put myself out there as much. And now I’m kind of like, ‘Hey, this is me; I’m the main character in this.’”

His recently released single “Shadow of Mine” best epitomizes the album’s main themes as Benjamin faces the reality that met him at the forefront of lockdowns and the emotions from which he couldn’t run away.

“Going into it I was thinking, ‘Maybe if I just go somewhere else, or get out of my house, or move in with friends or change my address,’ But that’s not going to fix my problems,” he said. “You kind of have to learn to live with yourself.”

Benjamin said he musically matured in his latest album, as well, using more live instrumentation and dialing back the use of his usual electronic production.

Now, with the pandemic seemingly receding, Benjamin is excited to be heading back out on on the road and remains cautiously optimistic on what the weeks and months ahead could bring. This next stint of his American tour, a 19-show run, kicked off in Spokane, Wash. and will soon wind through to Coachella.

“Everything is like it’s all new, like I’m doing it for the first time,” Benjamin said in regards to the freshness that he feels after being far away from the stage for so long.

Along with touring, Benjamin continues to expand his horizons in his music, as he aims to recreate his album fully in Mandarin Chinese. “I can’t pinpoint what exactly drove me to study Chinese,” Benjamin said of his love for Chinese language and culture, but added that his father blended elements of Chinese culture into his own medical practice, which may have contributed to his feelings of connection to the language.

This past year, Benjamin teamed up with 23-year-old Chinese artist Zhao Lusi to recreate older song “Water Fountain” in Mandarin, and also did so on his own with “The Way You Felt” from (Un)commentary.

(Un)Commentary was produced by Sir Nolan, Sam de Jong and RØMANS, and features writing collaborations with Dan Wilson, Charlie Puth, Sam Roman and Nolan Lambrosa.

Follow writer Amelia Parreira at Twitter.com/AmeliaParreira.