LA singer-songwriter dacelynn announces debut EP ‘nine lives’ (12/5); releases “moat”
September 24, 2025 BY Emma Orland
Today, LA singer-songwriter dacelynn announces her debut EP nine lives, releasing December 5 via Nettwerk Music Group. Along with the announcement comes lead single “moat,” which turns self-sabotage into something hauntingly beautiful. Listen to “moat” here: https://dacelynn.ffm.to/moat.
Written after navigating a push-and-pull relationship, the track unpacks the fear of vulnerability – the kind that makes you dig trenches around yourself rather than risk being truly seen. Over shimmering melodies and bittersweet hooks, she confesses, “I built a moat around my mind just to protect you… nobody knows me ‘cause they can’t, no one will know me till I can,” capturing the paradox of wanting closeness while keeping it out of reach.
“I was in a relationship last year, and it was very push-and-pull,” dacelynn recalls. “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.’
On her upcoming EP, dacelynn documents her transformation – each track a snapshot of a distinct version of herself as she navigates love, loss, self-discovery, and, ultimately, growth. Through intimate lyricism and delicate yet expansive soundscapes, dacelynn invites listeners into her world while giving them space to see their own reflections.
“For me, music is one of my main ways to process traumas and heavy emotions,” she shares. With nine lives, dacelynn turns that process into connection, reminding us that through vulnerability, no one is ever truly alone.
dacelynn set the stage for nine lives earlier this year with “russian doll.” Written initially as a poem on a flight from New York to Los Angeles, dacelynn set it to melody on her acoustic guitar and posted the demo to TikTok. Exploring compartmentalization, dacelynn likens herself to a Russian doll—layers within layers, each concealing another version of oneself; wrestling with identity, growth, and the struggle to reconcile past, present, and future selves. It took off immediately, assuming a life of its own ahead of its official release, and has since been covered hundreds of times on the platform, amassing over half a million streams.
nine lives tracklist:
porcelain
dog eat dog
fishing with you
monsoon
rip you open
moat
russian doll
it’s over (it’s over)
About dacelynn:
dacelynn is here to make you feel seen. The 21-year-old Texas-raised singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist molds the biggest feelings into songs that are as personal to her as they are universally relatable. After first making waves at just 15 with her breakout single “80’s makeout session” – which has since amassed 27M+ streams – dacelynn has continued to connect through raw, relatable tracks like “love & doubt,” “cracked teeth,” and “Baby Bangs” with Frances Forever.
