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10 songs that feel like Obvs

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

Obvs
The song you love
Obvs
Jamie xx
moderate 39/100 intensity 76 BPM
New York Is Killing Me — Gil Scott-Heron moderate 80 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (80 BPM).

Buggin' Out — A Tribe Called Quest moderate 85 BPM

87% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it runs a little hotter at 46/100. Same layered texture.

Too High — Stevie Wonder moderate 96 BPM

Keeps the same groovy pull — runs a little hotter at 47/100. Measured 86% alike.

Junior's Eyes — Black Sabbath moderate 112 BPM

Measures 85% the same. It runs a little hotter at 48/100. Same layered texture.

Music for My Mother — Funkadelic moderate 95 BPM

A 85% feel-match — carries the same groovy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (37/100).

Wave — Patti Smith moderate 70 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (39/100). Same layered texture.

Dirty Boulevard — Lou Reed moderate 95 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100). Measured 96% alike.

Who Will Survive in America — Kanye West moderate 86 BPM

Measures 98% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Same layered texture.

Wait Until Tomorrow — Jimi Hendrix Experience moderate 95 BPM

A 86% feel-match — carries the same groovy pull and runs a little hotter at 51/100.

Lie To Me — Tom Waits moderate 85 BPM

95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Obvs 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 its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 6. Intensity 12/100, down from 39. 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

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6, so it lands at 16/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 32/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 23/100, versus the original's 39. Nearly the same tempo, too.

August by Taylor Swift
August — Taylor Swift safe 90 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it stays in our safe band start to finish. Intensity 35/100, down from 39.

Champagne Problems by Taylor Swift
Champagne Problems — Taylor Swift safe 68 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 27/100 — 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 39. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Obvs” by Jamie xx?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “New York Is Killing Me” by Gil Scott-Heron, “Buggin' Out” by A Tribe Called Quest, “Too High” by Stevie Wonder — 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 “Obvs” but calmer?

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

How intense is “Obvs”?

It measures 39/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and spoken word. Tempo is 76 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 32% of songs, calmer than the other 68%. Its intensity reading of 39/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and spoken word. 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 a slow, unhurried pace: more extreme on that axis than 86% 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
Focus9/10
Workout2/10
Dinner8/10
Party / hype3/10

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

2015 in context

The 373 songs we’ve measured from 2015 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. 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

Intensity39
Dynamics56
Tempo20
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force40
Trigger load13

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

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