← Back to Long Dark Night

10 songs that feel like Long Dark Night

Matched to Long Dark Night 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.

Long Dark Night
The song you love
Long Dark Night
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
moderate 14/100 intensity 60 BPM
♪
Country Road — James Taylor safe 72 BPM

A 98% feel-match — carries the same serene pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (15/100).

♪
Knockin' on Heaven's Door — Bob Dylan moderate 72 BPM

95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (15/100). Same smooth texture.

♪
Into the West — Annie Lennox safe 60 BPM

Keeps the same serene pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (14/100). Measured 96% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (60 BPM).

♪
Sumiregusa (Wild Violet) — Enya safe 72 BPM

Measures 95% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (11/100). Same smooth texture.

♪
Heaven — Depeche Mode safe 100 BPM

A 92% feel-match — carries the same serene pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (18/100).

♪
Slow Cheetah — Red Hot Chili Peppers safe 70 BPM

98% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (15/100). Same smooth texture.

♪
Alexandra Leaving — Leonard Cohen moderate 72 BPM

Keeps the same serene pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (15/100). Measured 98% alike.

♪
Water Shows the Hidden Heart — Enya safe 72 BPM

Measures 98% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (15/100). Same smooth texture.

♪
Dark Turn of Mind — Gillian Welch moderate 72 BPM

A 98% feel-match — carries the same serene pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (15/100).

♪
Ave Verum Corpus — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart safe 60 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (10/100). Same smooth texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

The Big Ship by Brian Eno
The Big Ship — Brian Eno safe 60 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it stays in our safe band start to finish. Intensity 8/100, down from 14. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Slow Cheetah by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Slow Cheetah — Red Hot Chili Peppers safe 70 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 15/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

On Your Shore by Enya
On Your Shore — Enya safe 60 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 10/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Sumiregusa (Wild Violet) by Enya
Sumiregusa (Wild Violet) — Enya safe 72 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 11/100, versus the original's 14.

Water Shows the Hidden Heart by Enya
Water Shows the Hidden Heart — Enya safe 72 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it stays in our safe band start to finish. Intensity 15/100, down from 14.

Dark Sky Island by Enya
Dark Sky Island — Enya safe 72 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 20/100 — the pull without the edge.

Things Behind the Sun by Nick Drake
Things Behind the Sun — Nick Drake safe 72 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 11/100.

Country Road by James Taylor
Country Road — James Taylor safe 72 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 15/100, versus the original's 14.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Long Dark Night” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Country Road” by James Taylor, “Knockin' on Heaven's Door” by Bob Dylan, “Into the West” by Annie Lennox — the top match scores 98% 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 “Long Dark Night” but calmer?

“The Big Ship” by Brian Eno, “Slow Cheetah” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, “On Your Shore” by Enya keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Long Dark Night”?

It measures 14/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 4/10, smooth texture, no sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Tempo is 60 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

This sits near the calm end of everything we've measured — gentler than 97% of the 19,209 songs in the library. Its intensity reading of 14/100 comes from a dynamic range of 4/10, smooth texture, no sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is a slow, unhurried pace: more extreme on that axis than 100% 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

Sleep10/10
Focus9/10
Workout0/10
Dinner6/10
Party / hype0/10

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

2024 in context

The 135 songs we’ve measured from 2024 average a dynamic range of 6.2/10. At 4/10, this track is gentler and steadier than its year.

Mixes smoothly with

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

The fingerprint

Intensity14
Dynamics33
Tempo11
Surprise0
Density0
Predictability0
Vocal force25
Trigger load0

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

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

Find its sonic twin →
Share on X
Check another song →