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10 songs that feel like Leonard Cohen

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

Leonard Cohen
The song you love
Leonard Cohen
boygenius
moderate 49/100 intensity 120 BPM
Little of Your Love — Haim moderate 120 BPM

A 96% feel-match — carries the same warm pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

Say You Love Me — Fleetwood Mac moderate 108 BPM

98% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Same layered texture.

Love Me or Leave Me — Nina Simone 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).

Devil in a New Dress — Kanye West moderate 120 BPM

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

Kamera — Wilco 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).

Hold You Now — Vampire Weekend moderate 120 BPM

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

29 #Strafford APTS — Bon Iver moderate 125 BPM

Keeps the same warm pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (125 BPM).

Hard to Concentrate — Red Hot Chili Peppers moderate 126 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (50/100). Same layered texture.

oh baby — LCD Soundsystem moderate 118 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 (118 BPM).

F.U.B.U. — Solange moderate 122 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 Leonard Cohen is more than you want right now.

Like Real People Do by Hozier
Like Real People Do — Hozier safe 106 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 6. Intensity 14/100, down from 49.

True Blue by boygenius
True Blue — boygenius 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.

Color in Your Cheeks — The Mountain Goats safe 125 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 28/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Replaced by Big Thief
Replaced — Big Thief safe 110 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. 19/100, versus the original's 49. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Stand by Me — Ben E King 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.

Work Song by Hozier
Work Song — Hozier safe 90 BPM

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

Delicate by Taylor Swift
Delicate — Taylor Swift safe 95 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 29/100.

Ours — Taylor Swift safe 90 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 30/100, versus the original's 49.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Leonard Cohen” by boygenius?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Little of Your Love” by Haim, “Say You Love Me” by Fleetwood Mac, “Love Me or Leave Me” by Nina Simone — the top match scores 96% 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 “Leonard Cohen” but calmer?

“Like Real People Do” by Hozier, “True Blue” by boygenius, “Color in Your Cheeks” by The Mountain Goats keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Leonard Cohen”?

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.

2023 in context

The 188 songs we’ve measured from 2023 average a dynamic range of 6.1/10. 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 load0

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

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