We all have different versions of ourselves that come out in different situations. I mean, are you the same person with your grandparents that you are with your friends? Are you the same person at work that you are on vacation? We all have personalities within our personality, and that’s what makes us unique. On her upcoming debut EP, nine lives, dacelynn explores the many versions of herself she encountered as she navigated loss, love, and self-discovery. She introduced us to these versions earlier this year with the release of “russian doll” and, most recently, “dog eat dog.” With her latest single “moat,” dacelynn looks at who she was in a past relationship.
On “moat,” dacelynn recalls the identity crisis she faced on a former relationship. Lyrically, she is hurt and vulnerable, but vocally, she comes across as light and jubilant. Over the folksy textures of the acoustic guitar and layers of strings, we hear about the “messages I should say but I won’t” and how she “built a moat around my mind just to protect you.” In the end, she claims, “Nobody knows me / Nobody knows me ‘cause they can’t / No one will know me / Till I can.”
Telling us more about “moat,” dacelynn shares,
“I was in a relationship last year, and it was very push-and-pull. I let this person fall for a version of me that felt inauthentic to myself. I have a hard time opening up, being fully vulnerable, and allowing a deep connection to form, so I didn’t understand how they could be so sure of their love for me when I didn’t feel like myself at all. I felt I was doing them a service by pushing them away. Like the song says, ‘I built a moat around my mind just to protect you.’”
You can listen to “moat” here.
nine lives will be released December 5.
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