← Back to Breathing

10 songs that feel like Breathing

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

Breathing
The song you love
Breathing
Kate Bush
intense 91/100 intensity 85 BPM
The March of the Black Queen — Queen intense 95 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same heavy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (92/100).

Confutatis — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart intense 80 BPM

90% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it sits a little calmer at 83/100. Same complex texture.

Distant Sky — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds intense 60 BPM

Keeps the same heavy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (89/100). Measured 93% alike.

Untitled #8 — Sigur Rós intense 70 BPM

Measures 89% the same. It sits a little calmer at 84/100.

Die Young — Black Sabbath intense 140 BPM

A 88% feel-match — carries the same heavy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (96/100).

Erlkönig — Franz Schubert intense 120 BPM

92% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (94/100). Same complex texture.

Expressway to Yr. Skull — Sonic Youth intense 120 BPM

Keeps the same heavy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (94/100). Measured 92% alike.

Maggot Brain — Funkadelic intense 90 BPM

Measures 91% the same. It sits a little calmer at 84/100. Same complex texture.

St. Matthew Passion — Johann Sebastian Bach intense 100 BPM

A 90% feel-match — carries the same heavy pull and sits a little calmer at 85/100.

Izabella — Jimi Hendrix intense 120 BPM

92% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (94/100). Same complex texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

Pagan Poetry by Björk
Pagan Poetry — Björk moderate 92 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 9. Intensity 30/100, down from 91. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Woman in Chains by Tears for Fears
Woman in Chains — Tears for Fears moderate 104 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9, so it lands at 58/100 — the pull without the edge.

I Believe by Mahalia Jackson
I Believe — Mahalia Jackson moderate 72 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it measures markedly calmer overall. Reads 59/100.

Pieces of a Man by Gil Scott-Heron
Pieces of a Man — Gil Scott-Heron moderate 90 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. 50/100, versus the original's 91. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Thumbs by Lucy Dacus
Thumbs — Lucy Dacus moderate 80 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 9. Intensity 34/100, down from 91. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Don't Believe the Fife — Mogwai moderate 90 BPM

It measures markedly calmer overall, so it lands at 51/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Sweet Heart Sweet Light — Spiritualized moderate 95 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it measures markedly calmer overall. Reads 61/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Come On by Lucinda Williams
Come On — Lucinda Williams moderate 85 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 9. 46/100, versus the original's 91. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Breathing” by Kate Bush?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “The March of the Black Queen” by Queen, “Confutatis” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, “Distant Sky” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds — the top match scores 95% 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 “Breathing” but calmer?

“Pagan Poetry” by Björk, “Woman in Chains” by Tears for Fears, “I Believe” by Mahalia Jackson keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Breathing”?

It measures 91/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 9/10, complex texture, extreme sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 85 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 is one of the more intense things in our library — more energetic than 99% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 91/100 comes from a dynamic range of 9/10, complex texture, extreme shifts, and dynamic vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is blazing intensity: more extreme on that axis than 99% 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

Sleep0/10
Focus0/10
Workout7/10
Dinner3/10
Party / hype7/10

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

1980 in context

The 257 songs we’ve measured from 1980 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. At 9/10, 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

Intensity91
Dynamics89
Tempo25
Surprise100
Density60
Predictability100
Vocal force75
Trigger load38

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 →