Barbie Almalbis explains overcoming internal struggles on new single “homeostasis”

The song serves as the second single off her upcoming fifth album, to be released at the end of the year

Photo by Nina Sandejas

Following the critically acclaimed comeback single “Desperate Hours” last month, Barbie Almalbis makes her early-awaited return to deliver another eclectic follow-up to mark the continuation of a new music era.

The award-winning singer-songwriter has released her second single, “homeostasis,” which was derived from a biological term that illustrates our body’s regulating process as a way to adjust to changing external conditions.

“I’m no scientist, so I’m using this concept very loosely and explaining it in the simple way I understand it,” explains the Dahilan pop-rock visionary. “It’s the process by which our body always returns to equilibrium, a balanced state, like how we involuntarily sweat when we’re too hot and shiver when we’re too cold. It’s the same with emotions: our body doesn’t want us to stay too ecstatic or too sad; it tries to bring us back to a steady state.”

Almalbis was undergoing a very challenging phase in her life, and felt the need to channel her frustrations into art. She couldn’t do anything to change the situation, so she thought of making a song that perfectly describes what she was experiencing at that moment. 

The influential music figure reveals, “Homeostasis was giving me hope, that everyday my body is going to adapt, I’d feel less and less terrible in time, because it has that built-in function.”

Her constant collaborator Nick Lazaro of Eclectic Kiss arranged and produced the song, with Almalbis penning the material on guitarlele and brother/bandmate Karel Honasan writing the instrumental parts. The result is another riveting, non-conventional track that combines Almalbis’ confessional and poetic lyrics with edgy, art-rock production and minimal synths: think of St. Vincent or PJ Harvey, but with a more saccharine take in terms of vocal delivery.

“I love how Lazaro put all the dance and synth pop elements on it, as well as the more aggressive guitar riffs,” says Almalbis. “I’ve been interested in that dance pop/rock genre for a while. I had some songs like Run For Cover and Wicked Heart, but I love how Nick was able to do it this way, where the rock and edgy sound is more present; it kind of sounds closer to how we play these songs live too.”

Barbie Almalbis’ “homeostasis” is out now on all digital music platforms worldwide.