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10 songs that feel like Elysium

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

Elysium
The song you love
Elysium
Portishead
moderate 30/100 intensity 80 BPM
Radio Cure — Wilco moderate 85 BPM

A 94% feel-match — carries the same spacious pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (34/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (85 BPM).

Heavy Bend — Big Thief moderate 85 BPM

94% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (34/100). Same layered texture.

Heaven for the Sinner — Bonobo moderate 95 BPM

Keeps the same spacious pull — runs a little hotter at 39/100. Measured 91% alike.

Eurochild — Massive Attack moderate 95 BPM

Measures 90% the same. It runs a little hotter at 39/100. Same layered texture.

Untogether — Lush moderate 95 BPM

A 90% feel-match — carries the same spacious pull and runs a little hotter at 39/100.

Holocaust — Big Star moderate 70 BPM

98% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (29/100). Same layered texture.

MmmHmm — Flying Lotus moderate 85 BPM

Keeps the same spacious pull — runs a little hotter at 38/100. Measured 92% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (85 BPM).

Waltz No. 1 — Elliott Smith moderate 90 BPM

Measures 91% the same. It runs a little hotter at 38/100. Same layered texture.

Le vent dans la plaine — Claude Debussy moderate 88 BPM

A 91% feel-match — carries the same spacious pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (29/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (88 BPM).

Don't Stop — The Stone Roses moderate 120 BPM

91% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it runs a little hotter at 37/100. Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

Sugar for the Pill by Slowdive
Sugar for the Pill — Slowdive safe 60 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 19/100, down from 30.

Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan
Blowin' in the Wind — Bob Dylan 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.

If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot
If You Could Read My Mind — Gordon Lightfoot safe 85 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 16/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Solid Colors by Liz Story
Solid Colors — Liz Story safe 75 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 14/100, versus the original's 30. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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 30.

Please, Please, Please by James Brown
Please, Please, Please — James Brown safe 80 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 32/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 23/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 25/100, versus the original's 30.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Elysium” by Portishead?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Radio Cure” by Wilco, “Heavy Bend” by Big Thief, “Heaven for the Sinner” by Bonobo — the top match scores 94% 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 “Elysium” but calmer?

“Sugar for the Pill” by Slowdive, “Blowin' in the Wind” by Bob Dylan, “If You Could Read My Mind” by Gordon Lightfoot keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Elysium”?

It measures 30/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 4/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Tempo is 80 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 sits near the calm end of everything we've measured — gentler than 80% of the 19,209 songs in the library. Its intensity reading of 30/100 comes from a dynamic range of 4/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and soft vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.

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.

What it’s good for

Sleep7/10
Focus10/10
Workout2/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype2/10

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

1997 in context

The 389 songs we’ve measured from 1997 average a dynamic range of 6.6/10. 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

Intensity30
Dynamics33
Tempo22
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force25
Trigger load13

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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