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10 songs that feel like Shanty

Matched to Shanty 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.

Shanty
The song you love
Shanty
Slowdive
intense 60/100 intensity 95 BPM
Alberto Balsam — Aphex Twin moderate 120 BPM

A 92% feel-match — carries the same spacious pull and sits a little calmer at 54/100.

Shine a Light — Spiritualized intense 80 BPM

97% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (60/100). Same layered texture.

OKAGA, CA — Tyler, the Creator moderate 95 BPM

Keeps the same transcendent pull — sits a little calmer at 50/100. Measured 95% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (95 BPM).

New Paths to Helicon, Pt. 2 — Mogwai moderate 85 BPM

Measures 89% the same. It sits a little calmer at 47/100. Same layered texture.

Eurochild — Massive Attack moderate 95 BPM

A 86% feel-match — carries the same spacious pull and sits a little calmer at 39/100. Nearly the same tempo, too (95 BPM).

Untogether — Lush moderate 95 BPM

86% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it sits a little calmer at 39/100. Same layered texture.

Love Like a Sunset — Phoenix moderate 128 BPM

Keeps the same spacious pull — sits a little calmer at 53/100. Measured 91% alike.

Ný batterí — Sigur Rós moderate 85 BPM

Measures 88% the same. It sits a little calmer at 42/100. Same layered texture.

Friend of the Night — Mogwai intense 80 BPM

A 90% feel-match — carries the same spacious pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (60/100).

Mysterons — Portishead intense 80 BPM

85% 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 Shanty is more than you want right now.

Machinist by Japanese Breakfast
Machinist — Japanese Breakfast moderate 95 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. Intensity 54/100, down from 60. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Sit by Japanese Breakfast
Sit — Japanese Breakfast moderate 95 BPM

It eases off just enough to take the edge off, so it lands at 54/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Picnic on a Frozen River / Deuxieme Tableux by Faust

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it measures markedly calmer overall. Reads 47/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Rubycon by Tangerine Dream
Rubycon — Tangerine Dream safe 90 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 8. 20/100, versus the original's 60. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Boyish by Japanese Breakfast
Boyish — Japanese Breakfast moderate 85 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it eases off just enough to take the edge off. Intensity 57/100, down from 60. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Diving Woman by Japanese Breakfast
Diving Woman — Japanese Breakfast moderate 95 BPM

It measures markedly calmer overall, so it lands at 51/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Heavy Bend by Big Thief
Heavy Bend — Big Thief moderate 85 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 8. Reads 34/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Time Escaping by Big Thief
Time Escaping — Big Thief moderate 110 BPM

Holds the same feel while it eases off just enough to take the edge off. 63/100, versus the original's 60.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Shanty” by Slowdive?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Alberto Balsam” by Aphex Twin, “Shine a Light” by Spiritualized, “OKAGA, CA” by Tyler, the Creator — the top match scores 92% 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 “Shanty” but calmer?

“Machinist” by Japanese Breakfast, “Sit” by Japanese Breakfast, “Picnic on a Frozen River / Deuxieme Tableux” by Faust keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Shanty”?

It measures 60/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 8/10, layered texture, moderate sudden shifts, and soft 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 77% of songs, calmer than the other 23%. Its intensity reading of 60/100 comes from a dynamic range of 8/10, layered texture, moderate 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 a huge quiet-to-loud swing: more extreme on that axis than 80% 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.

Dial the feeling up or down

What it’s good for

Sleep0/10
Focus5/10
Workout4/10
Dinner6/10
Party / hype4/10

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 8/10, 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

Intensity60
Dynamics78
Tempo31
Surprise50
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force25
Trigger load25

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

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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