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10 songs that feel like Distant Sky

Matched to Distant Sky by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

Distant Sky
The song you love
Distant Sky
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
intense 89/100 intensity 60 BPM
Breathing — Kate Bush intense 85 BPM

A 93% feel-match — carries the same heavy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (91/100).

St. Matthew Passion — Johann Sebastian Bach intense 100 BPM

87% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (85/100). Same complex texture.

Maggot Brain — Funkadelic intense 90 BPM

Keeps the same heavy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (84/100). Measured 88% alike.

Mass in B Minor — Johann Sebastian Bach intense 60 BPM

Measures 87% the same. It sits a little calmer at 81/100. Same complex texture.

Mother I Sober — Kendrick Lamar intense 60 BPM

A 89% feel-match — carries the same heavy pull and sits a little calmer at 83/100. Nearly the same tempo, too (60 BPM).

Confutatis — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart intense 80 BPM

87% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it sits a little calmer at 83/100. Same complex texture.

Untitled #8 — Sigur Rós intense 70 BPM

Keeps the same heavy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (84/100). Measured 87% alike.

Ys — Joanna Newsom intense 100 BPM

Measures 87% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (85/100). Same complex texture.

Break It Up — Patti Smith intense 85 BPM

A 89% feel-match — carries the same transcendent pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (85/100).

The March of the Black Queen — Queen intense 95 BPM

89% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (92/100). Same complex texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

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

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. Intensity 50/100, down from 89.

Light Blue by Snail Mail
Light Blue — Snail Mail moderate 72 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 9, so it lands at 45/100 — the pull without the edge.

Cold by Chris Stapleton
Cold — Chris Stapleton moderate 65 BPM

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

Summertime/Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child by Mahalia Jackson
Summertime/Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child — Mahalia Jackson moderate 72 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 9. 45/100, versus the original's 89.

I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) by Otis Redding
I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) — Otis Redding moderate 72 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. Intensity 49/100, down from 89.

Don't Say You Love Me by Depeche Mode
Don't Say You Love Me — Depeche Mode moderate 72 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 9, so it lands at 45/100 — the pull without the edge.

Condemnation by Depeche Mode
Condemnation — Depeche Mode moderate 72 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 9. Reads 45/100.

My Eyes by Travis Scott
My Eyes — Travis Scott moderate 95 BPM

Holds the same feel while it measures markedly calmer overall. 61/100, versus the original's 89.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Distant Sky” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Breathing” by Kate Bush, “St. Matthew Passion” by Johann Sebastian Bach, “Maggot Brain” by Funkadelic — the top match scores 93% 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 “Distant Sky” but calmer?

“Pieces of a Man” by Gil Scott-Heron, “Light Blue” by Snail Mail, “Cold” by Chris Stapleton keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Distant Sky”?

It measures 89/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 9/10, complex texture, extreme sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 60 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 98% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 89/100 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 a slow, unhurried pace: more extreme on that axis than 100% 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

Sleep0/10
Focus0/10
Workout6/10
Dinner3/10
Party / hype7/10

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

2017 in context

The 461 songs we’ve measured from 2017 average a dynamic range of 6.0/10. 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

Intensity89
Dynamics89
Tempo11
Surprise100
Density60
Predictability100
Vocal force75
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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