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10 songs that feel like Waltz #2 (XO)

Matched to Waltz #2 (XO) by Elliott Smith 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
Waltz #2 (XO)
Elliott Smith
moderate 50/100 intensity 180 BPM
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Hiders — Burial moderate 130 BPM

A 86% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100).

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Made of Stone — The Stone Roses moderate 131 BPM

90% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (46/100). Same layered texture.

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Drift — Goldie moderate 170 BPM

Keeps the same introspective pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Measured 91% alike.

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Still Life — Goldie moderate 170 BPM

Measures 91% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Same layered texture.

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Dragonfly — Goldie moderate 170 BPM

A 91% feel-match — carries the same introspective pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100).

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Jah the Seventh Seal — Goldie moderate 170 BPM

91% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Same layered texture.

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Mandalay — Goldie moderate 170 BPM

Keeps the same introspective pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Measured 91% alike.

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Kyoto — Phoebe Bridgers moderate 139 BPM

Measures 91% the same. It sits a little calmer at 43/100. Same layered texture.

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What's Good (The Thesis) — Lou Reed moderate 120 BPM

A 86% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and sits a little calmer at 43/100.

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Coffee & TV — Blur moderate 125 BPM

88% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it sits a little calmer at 41/100. Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Waltz #2 (XO) is more than you want right now.

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

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 28/100, down from 50.

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Dark Side of the Gym — The National safe 70 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 7, so it lands at 15/100 — the pull without the edge.

Revolution 0 by boygenius
Revolution 0 — boygenius safe 70 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 7. Reads 25/100.

Silent All These Years by Tori Amos
Silent All These Years — Tori Amos safe 70 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 7. 15/100, versus the original's 50.

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 50.

End of the Road by Boyz II Men
End of the Road — Boyz II Men safe 60 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 37/100 — the pull without the edge.

Have You Ever by Brandy
Have You Ever — Brandy safe 80 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 24/100.

Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan
Blowin' in the Wind — Bob Dylan safe 80 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 7. 12/100, versus the original's 50.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Waltz #2 (XO)” by Elliott Smith?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Hiders” by Burial, “Made of Stone” by The Stone Roses, “Drift” by Goldie — the top match scores 86% 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 “Waltz #2 (XO)” but calmer?

“If I Were a Boy” by Beyoncé, “Dark Side of the Gym” by The National, “Revolution 0” by boygenius keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Waltz #2 (XO)”?

It measures 50/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Tempo is 180 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 62% of songs, calmer than the other 38%. Its intensity reading of 50/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, 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 98% 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

Sleep5/10
Focus9/10
Workout3/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype6/10

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

1998 in context

The 339 songs we’ve measured from 1998 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. At 7/10, this track is louder and more dynamic than its year.

Mixes smoothly with

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

The fingerprint

Intensity50
Dynamics67
Tempo78
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
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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