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10 songs that feel like Praying Hands

Matched to Praying Hands by Devo on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

Praying Hands
The song you love
Praying Hands
Devo
moderate 48/100 intensity 110 BPM
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Tentative Decisions — Talking Heads moderate 110 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same rebellious pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (110 BPM).

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I Wanna Know If It's Good To You — Funkadelic moderate 95 BPM

95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (51/100). Same layered texture.

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Operation Doomsday — MF DOOM moderate 95 BPM

Keeps the same playful pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (47/100). Measured 95% alike.

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Heaven Is a Truck — Pavement moderate 110 BPM

Measures 96% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Same layered texture.

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God — Tori Amos moderate 95 BPM

A 93% feel-match — carries the same playful pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (51/100).

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Paper — Talking Heads moderate 110 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Same layered texture.

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You Can Call Me Al — Paul Simon moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same playful pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Measured 95% alike.

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Blueprint — Fugazi moderate 120 BPM

Measures 95% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (53/100). Same layered texture.

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Chocolate City — Parliament moderate 105 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same playful pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (105 BPM).

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Good in Bed — Dua Lipa moderate 110 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

The Lady Don't Mind by Talking Heads
The Lady Don't Mind — Talking Heads safe 95 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 21/100, down from 48.

De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da by The Police
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da — The Police safe 120 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 41/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Goodbye Weekend by Mac DeMarco
Goodbye Weekend — Mac DeMarco safe 85 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 16/100.

Way Out West by Sonny Rollins
Way Out West — Sonny Rollins safe 140 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 36/100, versus the original's 48.

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The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton — The Mountain Goats safe 80 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 6. Intensity 14/100, down from 48.

Monday Morning by Fleetwood Mac
Monday Morning — Fleetwood Mac safe 120 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 41/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Seigfried by Frank Ocean
Seigfried — Frank Ocean safe 120 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 33/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

People's Parties by Joni Mitchell
People's Parties — Joni Mitchell safe 110 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. 24/100, versus the original's 48. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Praying Hands” by Devo?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Tentative Decisions” by Talking Heads, “I Wanna Know If It's Good To You” by Funkadelic, “Operation Doomsday” by MF DOOM — the top match scores 99% 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 “Praying Hands” but calmer?

“The Lady Don't Mind” by Talking Heads, “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” by The Police, “Goodbye Weekend” by Mac DeMarco keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Praying Hands”?

It measures 48/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 110 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 52% of songs, calmer than the other 48%. Its intensity reading of 48/100 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
Dinner7/10
Party / hype5/10

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

1977 in context

The 226 songs we’ve measured from 1977 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

Intensity48
Dynamics56
Tempo39
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force75
Trigger load38

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

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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