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10 songs that feel like Mourning Air

Matched to Mourning Air 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.

Mourning Air
The song you love
Mourning Air
Portishead
moderate 26/100 intensity 70 BPM
Sex Kills — Joni Mitchell moderate 72 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (26/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (72 BPM).

The Ultracheese — Arctic Monkeys moderate 72 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (26/100). Same layered texture.

Show Me the Place — Leonard Cohen moderate 60 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (25/100). Measured 98% alike.

That Funny Feeling — Phoebe Bridgers moderate 70 BPM

Measures 96% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (26/100). Same layered texture.

Easy Way Out — Elliott Smith moderate 85 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (27/100).

If God Will Send His Angels — U2 moderate 88 BPM

94% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (28/100). Same layered texture.

On the Beach — Neil Young moderate 75 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (30/100). Measured 94% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (75 BPM).

White Teeth Teens — Lorde moderate 92 BPM

Measures 94% the same. It runs a little hotter at 32/100. Same layered texture.

So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry) — R.E.M. moderate 94 BPM

A 94% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and runs a little hotter at 32/100.

Everybody Knows — Leonard Cohen moderate 88 BPM

93% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (30/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan
Blowin' in the Wind — Bob Dylan safe 80 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 12/100, down from 26. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 23/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Everybody Hurts — R.E.M. safe 75 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 22/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

White Horse by Taylor Swift
White Horse — Taylor Swift safe 80 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 23/100, versus the original's 26. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Right Where You Left Me by Taylor Swift
Right Where You Left Me — Taylor Swift safe 68 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 18/100, down from 26. Nearly the same tempo, too.

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived by Taylor Swift
The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived — Taylor Swift safe 80 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 23/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Sad Beautiful Tragic by Taylor Swift
Sad Beautiful Tragic — Taylor Swift safe 80 BPM

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.

Hoax by Taylor Swift
Hoax — Taylor Swift safe 72 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 22/100, versus the original's 26. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Mourning Air” by Portishead?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Sex Kills” by Joni Mitchell, “The Ultracheese” by Arctic Monkeys, “Show Me the Place” by Leonard Cohen — the top match scores 99% 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 “Mourning Air” but calmer?

“Blowin' in the Wind” by Bob Dylan, “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” by The Smiths, “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M. keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Mourning Air”?

It measures 26/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 4/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Tempo is 70 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 83% of the 19,209 songs in the library. Its intensity reading of 26/100 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

Sleep8/10
Focus10/10
Workout1/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype1/10

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

Intensity26
Dynamics33
Tempo17
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability0
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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