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10 songs that feel like Heart of a Broken Story

Matched to Heart of a Broken Story by The Promise Ring 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
Heart of a Broken Story
The Promise Ring
moderate 49/100 intensity 120 BPM
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Sweetheart Like You — Bob Dylan moderate 112 BPM

A 98% feel-match — carries the same intimate pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (112 BPM).

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Real Love — Big Thief moderate 120 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Same layered texture.

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Please Please Baby — Dwight Yoakam moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same intimate pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

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Mine — Taylor Swift moderate 120 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Same layered texture.

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Reach Out I'll Be There — The Four Tops moderate 120 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same intimate pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

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Somebody's Baby — Jackson Browne moderate 120 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Same layered texture.

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Little of Your Love — Haim moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same intimate pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

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Letter to Laredo — Joe Ely moderate 120 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Same layered texture.

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Blueming — IU moderate 120 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same intimate pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

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Death of a Martian — Red Hot Chili Peppers moderate 118 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Heart of a Broken Story is more than you want right now.

Oh Daddy by Fleetwood Mac
Oh Daddy — Fleetwood Mac safe 120 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 23/100, down from 49. Nearly the same tempo, too.

I Can't Give Everything Away by David Bowie
I Can't Give Everything Away — David Bowie safe 120 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 33/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Where the Wild Roses Grow by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds feat. Kylie Minogue
Where the Wild Roses Grow — Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds feat. Kylie Minogue safe 110 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. Reads 19/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

This Flight Tonight by Joni Mitchell
This Flight Tonight — Joni Mitchell safe 105 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. 18/100, versus the original's 49.

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 49.

The 1 by Taylor Swift
The 1 — Taylor Swift safe 90 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 24/100 — the pull without the edge.

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You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon — American Football safe 120 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 41/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Cowboy Like Me by Taylor Swift
Cowboy Like Me — Taylor Swift safe 70 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 22/100, versus the original's 49.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Heart of a Broken Story” by The Promise Ring?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Sweetheart Like You” by Bob Dylan, “Real Love” by Big Thief, “Please Please Baby” by Dwight Yoakam — the top match scores 98% 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 “Heart of a Broken Story” but calmer?

“Oh Daddy” by Fleetwood Mac, “I Can't Give Everything Away” by David Bowie, “Where the Wild Roses Grow” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds feat. Kylie Minogue keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Heart of a Broken Story”?

It measures 49/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 120 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 55% of songs, calmer than the other 45%. Its intensity reading of 49/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and dynamic 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 79% 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

Sleep4/10
Focus7/10
Workout6/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype5/10

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 6/10, this track is right in line with its year.

Mixes smoothly with

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

The fingerprint

Intensity49
Dynamics56
Tempo44
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force75
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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