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10 songs that feel like Silhouettes

Matched to Silhouettes by American Football 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
Silhouettes
American Football
moderate 41/100 intensity 120 BPM
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Self Control — Frank Ocean moderate 120 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

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Never Come Back — Caribou moderate 120 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100). Same layered texture.

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Sometimes — Erasure moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

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Bedsitter — Soft Cell moderate 120 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100). Same layered texture.

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Heart Like a Wheel — The Human League moderate 120 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

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Fade to Grey — Ultravox moderate 120 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100). Same layered texture.

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Have You Ever Seen the Rain — Creedence Clearwater Revival moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

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Caring Is Creepy — The Shins moderate 120 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100). Same layered texture.

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Bait and Switch — The Shins moderate 120 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

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Sea Legs — The Shins moderate 120 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

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

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 24/100, down from 41. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Dumb — Nirvana 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. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon — American Football safe 120 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 41/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

If I Were a Boy by Beyoncé
If I Were a Boy — Beyoncé safe 92 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 28/100, versus the original's 41.

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

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 23/100, down from 41.

William, It Was Really Nothing by The Smiths
William, It Was Really Nothing — The Smiths safe 92 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 25/100 — the pull without the edge.

August by Taylor Swift
August — Taylor Swift 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 35/100.

Male Fantasy by Billie Eilish
Male Fantasy — Billie Eilish safe 90 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. 26/100, versus the original's 41.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Silhouettes” by American Football?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Self Control” by Frank Ocean, “Never Come Back” by Caribou, “Sometimes” by Erasure — 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 “Silhouettes” but calmer?

“It's Too Late” by Carole King, “Dumb” by Nirvana, “You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon” by American Football keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Silhouettes”?

It measures 41/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Tempo is 120 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 35% of songs, calmer than the other 65%. Its intensity reading of 41/100 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 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

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

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

2016 in context

The 368 songs we’ve measured from 2016 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. 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

Intensity41
Dynamics56
Tempo44
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force25
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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