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10 songs that feel like On the Bound

Matched to On the Bound by Fiona Apple 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
On the Bound
Fiona Apple
moderate 51/100 intensity 95 BPM
Fireworks — Animal Collective moderate 95 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (51/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (95 BPM).

Life on Mars? — David Bowie moderate 100 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (51/100). Same layered texture.

Pet Sounds — The Beach Boys moderate 100 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (51/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (100 BPM).

Strangers — Portishead moderate 90 BPM

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

Chemical — Post Malone moderate 90 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (50/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (90 BPM).

Dissolved Girl — Massive Attack moderate 80 BPM

81% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it sits a little calmer at 38/100. Same layered texture.

Who Is It — Michael Jackson moderate 105 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (52/100). Measured 98% alike.

Butchered Tongue — Hozier moderate 85 BPM

Measures 98% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (50/100). Same layered texture.

Will Anybody Ever Love Me? — Sufjan Stevens moderate 85 BPM

A 98% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (50/100).

– Naiads, Cassadies — Fleet Foxes moderate 85 BPM

98% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (50/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when On the Bound 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 7. Intensity 12/100, down from 51.

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 7, so it lands at 16/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

If I Were a Boy by Beyoncé
If I Were a Boy — Beyoncé safe 92 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 28/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 32/100, versus the original's 51.

William, It Was Really Nothing by The Smiths
William, It Was Really Nothing — The Smiths safe 92 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 25/100, down from 51. Nearly the same tempo, too.

August by Taylor Swift
August — Taylor Swift safe 90 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 7, so it lands at 35/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 7. Reads 23/100.

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

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 7. 23/100, versus the original's 51.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “On the Bound” by Fiona Apple?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Fireworks” by Animal Collective, “Life on Mars?” by David Bowie, “Pet Sounds” by The Beach Boys — 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 “On the Bound” but calmer?

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

How intense is “On the Bound”?

It measures 51/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 95 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 66% of songs, calmer than the other 34%. Its intensity reading of 51/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, 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 blazing intensity: more extreme on that axis than 66% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on near-total stillness — steady volume, no surprises, a slow and unhurried pulse — 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

Sleep3/10
Focus7/10
Workout3/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype4/10

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

1999 in context

The 304 songs we’ve measured from 1999 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. At 7/10, this track is louder and more dynamic than its year.

Mixes smoothly with

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

The fingerprint

Intensity51
Dynamics67
Tempo31
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force75
Trigger load0

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

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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