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10 songs that feel like Breathless

Matched to Breathless by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

The song you love
Breathless
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
moderate 43/100 intensity 85 BPM
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Knights of Malta — The Smashing Pumpkins moderate 72 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same transcendent pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (42/100).

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Sun Giant — Fleet Foxes safe 72 BPM

95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (42/100). Same layered texture.

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Always You — Depeche Mode moderate 80 BPM

Keeps the same romantic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (43/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (80 BPM).

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Precious Angel — Bob Dylan moderate 92 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (44/100). Same layered texture.

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Closed on Sunday — Kanye West moderate 95 BPM

A 98% feel-match — carries the same warm pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (44/100).

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My Lover's Prayer — Otis Redding moderate 72 BPM

95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (42/100). Same layered texture.

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That's the Way of the World — Earth, Wind & Fire safe 85 BPM

Keeps the same romantic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (43/100). Measured 91% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (85 BPM).

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English House — Fleet Foxes safe 72 BPM

Measures 97% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (42/100). Same layered texture.

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Me Porto Bonito — Bad Bunny feat. Chencho Corleone moderate 90 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same romantic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (43/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (90 BPM).

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Don't Cry Baby — Etta James moderate 92 BPM

94% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (47/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Breathless is more than you want right now.

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The Joker and the Queen — Ed Sheeran (featuring Taylor Swift) safe 70 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 6. Intensity 11/100, down from 43.

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The Miracle of Love — Eurythmics safe 85 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 35/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Serenade for Strings in C Major by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Serenade for Strings in C Major — Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky safe 90 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 37/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

I Always Get Lucky with You by George Jones
I Always Get Lucky with You — George Jones safe 60 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. 14/100, versus the original's 43.

I See Who You Are by Björk
I See Who You Are — Björk safe 70 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. Intensity 15/100, down from 43.

Cypress by Tycho
Cypress — Tycho safe 95 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 37/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

A Love International by Khruangbin
A Love International — Khruangbin safe 85 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 30/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Golden Lady by Stevie Wonder
Golden Lady — Stevie Wonder safe 95 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 45/100, versus the original's 43. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Breathless” by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Knights of Malta” by The Smashing Pumpkins, “Sun Giant” by Fleet Foxes, “Always You” by Depeche Mode — the top match scores 95% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.

What songs are like “Breathless” but calmer?

“The Joker and the Queen” by Ed Sheeran (featuring Taylor Swift), “The Miracle of Love” by Eurythmics, “Serenade for Strings in C Major” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Breathless”?

It measures 43/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 85 BPM.

How do you decide which songs are similar?

Every song in our catalog is measured on 8 dimensions — intensity, dynamic range, tempo, sudden changes, texture, predictability, vocal force and fine sound detail. Similarity is the distance between two songs across those measurements, so matches cross genres and eras. Shared mood tags break ties.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

On our 19k-song scale this lands in the middle band — more energetic than 39% of songs, calmer than the other 61%. Its intensity reading of 43/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and dynamic vocals. It shares this stretch of the spectrum with thousands of other tracks, so the finer fingerprint below is what really separates it.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is an unusually steady, even volume: more extreme on that axis than 79% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep4/10
Focus8/10
Workout3/10
Dinner8/10
Party / hype3/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

2004 in context

The 334 songs we’ve measured from 2004 average a dynamic range of 6.4/10. At 6/10, this track is right in line with its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity43
Dynamics56
Tempo25
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability0
Vocal force75
Trigger load25

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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