← Back to Machine Gun

10 songs that feel like Machine Gun

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

Machine Gun
The song you love
Machine Gun
Slowdive
intense 60/100 intensity 85 BPM
Mysterons — Portishead intense 80 BPM

A 82% feel-match — carries the same heavy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (60/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (80 BPM).

With God on Our Side — Bob Dylan moderate 90 BPM

89% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it sits a little calmer at 37/100. Same layered texture.

Music for 18 Musicians — Steve Reich moderate 72 BPM

Keeps the same transcendent pull — sits a little calmer at 34/100. Measured 90% alike.

The Day Before You Came — ABBA moderate 92 BPM

Measures 91% the same. It sits a little calmer at 36/100. Same layered texture.

Road to Nowhere — Talking Heads moderate 110 BPM

A 87% feel-match — carries the same transcendent pull and sits a little calmer at 37/100.

Disarm — Smashing Pumpkins intense 72 BPM

90% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (60/100). Same layered texture.

The Wanderer — U2 featuring Johnny Cash moderate 80 BPM

Keeps the same contemplative pull — sits a little calmer at 37/100. Measured 89% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (80 BPM).

Another World — Antony and the Johnsons moderate 60 BPM

Measures 82% the same. It sits a little calmer at 25/100. Same layered texture.

Color Bars — Elliott Smith moderate 90 BPM

A 88% feel-match — carries the same contemplative pull and sits a little calmer at 32/100. Nearly the same tempo, too (90 BPM).

Every Day Is Exactly the Same — Nine Inch Nails intense 120 BPM

81% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (60/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

Walking with Jesus — Spiritualized moderate 85 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it measures markedly calmer overall. Intensity 42/100, down from 60. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Voices by Sturgill Simpson
Voices — Sturgill Simpson moderate 85 BPM

It measures markedly calmer overall, so it lands at 50/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Sweet Heart Sweet Light — Spiritualized moderate 95 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it eases off just enough to take the edge off. Reads 61/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Leaving the City — Joanna Newsom moderate 85 BPM

Holds the same feel while it eases off just enough to take the edge off. 61/100, versus the original's 60. Nearly the same tempo, too.

San Jacinto by Peter Gabriel
San Jacinto — Peter Gabriel moderate 95 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it measures markedly calmer overall. Intensity 51/100, down from 60. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Cars Hiss by My Window by The Doors
Cars Hiss by My Window — The Doors moderate 80 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6, so it lands at 30/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Serenade for Strings in C Major by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Serenade for Strings in C Major — Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky safe 90 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 37/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Breeze — Lush safe 95 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 36/100, versus the original's 60. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Machine Gun” by Slowdive?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Mysterons” by Portishead, “With God on Our Side” by Bob Dylan, “Music for 18 Musicians” by Steve Reich — the top match scores 82% 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 “Machine Gun” but calmer?

“Walking with Jesus” by Spiritualized, “Voices” by Sturgill Simpson, “Sweet Heart Sweet Light” by Spiritualized keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Machine Gun”?

It measures 60/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Tempo is 85 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 77% of songs, calmer than the other 23%. Its intensity reading of 60/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, 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 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.

Dial the feeling up or down

Same feeling, calmer: The Day Before You Came — ABBA

What it’s good for

Sleep4/10
Focus8/10
Workout4/10
Dinner6/10
Party / hype4/10

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

1993 in context

The 260 songs we’ve measured from 1993 average a dynamic range of 6.6/10. At 6/10, 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

Intensity60
Dynamics56
Tempo25
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability0
Vocal force25
Trigger load50

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

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

Find its sonic twin →
Share on X
Check another song →