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10 songs that feel like Cello Song

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

Cello Song
The song you love
Cello Song
Nick Drake
moderate 40/100 intensity 72 BPM
Sail to the Moon — Radiohead moderate 75 BPM

A 90% feel-match — carries the same dreamy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (44/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (75 BPM).

Daily Routine — Animal Collective moderate 95 BPM

86% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it runs a little hotter at 54/100. Same layered texture.

Sit — Japanese Breakfast moderate 95 BPM

Keeps the same dreamy pull — runs a little hotter at 54/100. Measured 86% alike.

Father to a Sister of Thought — Pavement safe 95 BPM

Measures 77% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (39/100). Same layered texture.

Listen, the Snow Is Falling — Galaxie 500 moderate 60 BPM

A 78% feel-match — carries the same serene pull and runs a little hotter at 47/100.

Nocturnes: III. Sirènes — Claude Debussy moderate 60 BPM

87% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it sits a little calmer at 32/100. Same layered texture.

Crepuscule with Nellie — Thelonious Monk safe 60 BPM

Keeps the same contemplative pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (45/100). Measured 87% alike.

Parisian Goldfish — Flying Lotus moderate 95 BPM

Measures 83% the same. It runs a little hotter at 52/100. Same layered texture.

Strange World — Iron Maiden moderate 95 BPM

A 84% feel-match — carries the same dreamy pull and runs a little hotter at 54/100.

Live in der Fabrik — Cluster moderate 85 BPM

83% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

Things Behind the Sun by Nick Drake
Things Behind the Sun — Nick Drake safe 72 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 11/100, down from 40. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Heaven — Talking Heads safe 80 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 12/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Überlin by R.E.M.
Überlin — R.E.M. safe 92 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 17/100.

Father to a Sister of Thought by Pavement
Father to a Sister of Thought — Pavement safe 95 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 39/100, versus the original's 40.

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

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 12/100, down from 40. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino by Arctic Monkeys
Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino — Arctic Monkeys safe 85 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 13/100 — the pull without the edge.

The Big Ship by Brian Eno
The Big Ship — Brian Eno safe 60 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 8/100.

This Old Dog — Mac DeMarco safe 85 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 22/100, versus the original's 40.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Cello Song” by Nick Drake?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Sail to the Moon” by Radiohead, “Daily Routine” by Animal Collective, “Sit” by Japanese Breakfast — the top match scores 90% 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 “Cello Song” but calmer?

“Things Behind the Sun” by Nick Drake, “Heaven” by Talking Heads, “Überlin” by R.E.M. keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Cello Song”?

It measures 40/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 4/10, layered texture, moderate sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Tempo is 72 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 34% of songs, calmer than the other 66%. Its intensity reading of 40/100 comes from a dynamic range of 4/10, layered texture, moderate 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 97% 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.

Dial the feeling up or down

Same feeling, calmer: Subtemple — Burial
Same feeling, bigger: Baby Bye Bye — Mac DeMarco

What it’s good for

Sleep4/10
Focus7/10
Workout2/10
Dinner8/10
Party / hype3/10

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

1969 in context

The 222 songs we’ve measured from 1969 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. At 4/10, this track is gentler and steadier than its year.

Mixes smoothly with

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

The fingerprint

Intensity40
Dynamics33
Tempo18
Surprise50
Density33
Predictability100
Vocal force25
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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