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10 songs that feel like The Moon Is Down

Matched to The Moon Is Down by Explosions in the Sky 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
The Moon Is Down
Explosions in the Sky
moderate 52/100 intensity 100 BPM
Symphony No 5 — Jean Sibelius moderate 100 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same emotional pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (52/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (100 BPM).

Death Rays — Mogwai moderate 110 BPM

98% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (53/100). Same layered texture.

Killing All the Flies — Mogwai intense 85 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — runs a little hotter at 60/100. Measured 94% alike.

Christmas Steps — Mogwai intense 80 BPM

Measures 94% the same. It runs a little hotter at 60/100. Same layered texture.

I Know You Are But What Am I — Mogwai intense 90 BPM

A 94% feel-match — carries the same emotional pull and runs a little hotter at 60/100.

Helicon 1 — Mogwai moderate 90 BPM

94% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (47/100). Same layered texture.

Overture to Egmont — Ludwig van Beethoven moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (54/100). Measured 96% alike.

Measures 96% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (54/100). Same layered texture.

Fantasie in F Minor, D. 940 — Franz Schubert moderate 80 BPM

A 96% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (50/100).

Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 — Sergei Rachmaninoff moderate 80 BPM

96% 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 The Moon Is Down is more than you want right now.

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

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 28/100, down from 52. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Happy For You by Dua Lipa
Happy For You — Dua Lipa safe 95 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 8, so it lands at 29/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Sæglópur by Sigur Rós
Sæglópur — Sigur Rós safe 90 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 8. Reads 31/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Friends Will Be Friends by Queen
Friends Will Be Friends — Queen safe 90 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. 38/100, versus the original's 52. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Me in Honey by R.E.M.
Me in Honey — R.E.M. safe 110 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. Intensity 45/100, down from 52. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Andrá by Sigur Rós
Andrá — Sigur Rós safe 75 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8, so it lands at 37/100 — the pull without the edge.

The Name of the Game by ABBA
The Name of the Game — ABBA safe 110 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. Reads 45/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

POV by Ariana Grande
POV — Ariana Grande safe 85 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 8. 26/100, versus the original's 52.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “The Moon Is Down” by Explosions in the Sky?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Symphony No 5” by Jean Sibelius, “Death Rays” by Mogwai, “Killing All the Flies” by Mogwai — 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 “The Moon Is Down” but calmer?

“If I Were a Boy” by Beyoncé, “Happy For You” by Dua Lipa, “Sæglópur” by Sigur Rós keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “The Moon Is Down”?

It measures 52/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 8/10, layered texture, moderate sudden shifts, and instrumental. Tempo is 100 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 68% of songs, calmer than the other 32%. Its intensity reading of 52/100 comes from a dynamic range of 8/10, layered texture, moderate shifts, and instrumental. 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 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.

What it’s good for

Sleep1/10
Focus6/10
Workout3/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype4/10

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

2001 in context

The 324 songs we’ve measured from 2001 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. 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

Intensity52
Dynamics78
Tempo33
Surprise50
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force0
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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