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10 songs that feel like Waking the Witch

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

Waking the Witch
The song you love
Waking the Witch
Kate Bush
intense 80/100 intensity 120 BPM
Supper's Ready — Genesis intense 120 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same emotional pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (80/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

Impossible Soul — Sufjan Stevens intense 120 BPM

91% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (80/100). Same layered texture.

Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine — James Brown intense 115 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (80/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (115 BPM).

Carmen — Maria Callas intense 120 BPM

Measures 96% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (80/100). Same layered texture.

Defying Gravity — Stephen Schwartz intense 127 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (81/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (127 BPM).

Stride la vampa — Giuseppe Verdi intense 120 BPM

90% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (83/100).

Brennisteinn — Sigur Rós intense 120 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — sits a little calmer at 71/100. Measured 90% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

Head Up — Deftones intense 100 BPM

Measures 89% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (75/100). Same layered texture.

Come Together — Spiritualized intense 90 BPM

A 89% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and runs a little hotter at 86/100.

Geyser — Mitski intense 128 BPM

88% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it sits a little calmer at 68/100. Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Waking the Witch is more than you want right now.

CPR — Wet Leg moderate 130 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it eases off just enough to take the edge off. Intensity 86/100, down from 80. Nearly the same tempo, too.

I've Gotta Get a Message to You — Bee Gees moderate 120 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9, so it lands at 60/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of by U2

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. Reads 50/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Bring the Boys Back Home by Pink Floyd
Bring the Boys Back Home — Pink Floyd moderate 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. 60/100, versus the original's 80. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Hunger — Florence and the Machine moderate 110 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. Intensity 52/100, down from 80. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Make Up Your Mind by Florence + The Machine
Make Up Your Mind — Florence + The Machine moderate 120 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9, so it lands at 53/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Do Me a Favour — Arctic Monkeys moderate 120 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. Reads 60/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

I Don't Want to Know by Fleetwood Mac
I Don't Want to Know — Fleetwood Mac moderate 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. 60/100, versus the original's 80. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Waking the Witch” by Kate Bush?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Supper's Ready” by Genesis, “Impossible Soul” by Sufjan Stevens, “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine” by James Brown — 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 “Waking the Witch” but calmer?

“CPR” by Wet Leg, “I've Gotta Get a Message to You” by Bee Gees, “Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of” by U2 keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Waking the Witch”?

It measures 80/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 9/10, layered texture, frequent sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 120 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 is one of the more intense things in our library — more energetic than 94% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 80/100 comes from a dynamic range of 9/10, layered texture, frequent shifts, and dynamic 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 96% 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

Sleep0/10
Focus1/10
Workout9/10
Dinner4/10
Party / hype8/10

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

1985 in context

The 186 songs we’ve measured from 1985 average a dynamic range of 6.4/10. At 9/10, 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

Intensity80
Dynamics89
Tempo44
Surprise75
Density33
Predictability100
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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