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10 songs that feel like No Sunlight

Matched to No Sunlight by Death Cab for Cutie on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

No Sunlight
The song you love
No Sunlight
Death Cab for Cutie
moderate 39/100 intensity 135 BPM
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Texarkana — R.E.M. moderate 122 BPM

A 97% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (38/100).

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Baby Britain — Elliott Smith moderate 120 BPM

97% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (38/100). Same layered texture.

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Born to Die — Lana Del Rey moderate 128 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (39/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (128 BPM).

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Nobody Else Will Be There — The National moderate 115 BPM

Measures 96% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (38/100). Same layered texture.

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Independence Day — Elliott Smith moderate 110 BPM

A 93% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (37/100).

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Train in Vain (Stand by Me) — The Clash moderate 145 BPM

98% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Same layered texture.

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Cortez the Killer — Neil Young moderate 136 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (39/100). Measured 96% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (136 BPM).

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You Are My Face — Wilco moderate 112 BPM

Measures 95% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (37/100). Same layered texture.

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Cut Here — The Cure moderate 124 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (35/100).

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yellow is the color of her eyes — Soccer Mommy safe 110 BPM

95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (37/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when No Sunlight is more than you want right now.

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Pictures of Me — Elliott Smith safe 120 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. Intensity 24/100, down from 39.

It's Too Late by Carole King
It's Too Late — Carole King safe 126 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 24/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Paris, Texas by Lana Del Rey
Paris, Texas — Lana Del Rey safe 120 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 6. Reads 16/100.

Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 23/100, versus the original's 39.

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Dumb — Nirvana safe 110 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. Intensity 19/100, down from 39.

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The White Lady Loves You More — Elliott Smith safe 110 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6, so it lands at 19/100 — the pull without the edge.

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Alameda — Elliott Smith safe 110 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. Reads 24/100.

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Everything Means Nothing to Me — Elliott Smith safe 75 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. 22/100, versus the original's 39.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “No Sunlight” by Death Cab for Cutie?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Texarkana” by R.E.M., “Baby Britain” by Elliott Smith, “Born to Die” by Lana Del Rey — the top match scores 97% 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 “No Sunlight” but calmer?

“Pictures of Me” by Elliott Smith, “It's Too Late” by Carole King, “Paris, Texas” by Lana Del Rey keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “No Sunlight”?

It measures 39/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Tempo is 135 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 32% of songs, calmer than the other 68%. Its intensity reading of 39/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and soft 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 a fast, driving tempo: more extreme on that axis than 89% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on near-total stillness — steady volume, no surprises, a slow and unhurried pulse — 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

Sleep6/10
Focus10/10
Workout5/10
Dinner8/10
Party / hype5/10

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

2008 in context

The 259 songs we’ve measured from 2008 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

Intensity39
Dynamics56
Tempo53
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability0
Vocal force25
Trigger load0

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

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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