"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Wading in Waist-High Water" by Fleet Foxes. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: dreamy, intimate, uplifting. Visual style: contemporary editorial aesthetic. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format."
Balanced energy, right in the middle of 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for dinner.
110
BPM
Wading in Waist-High Water by Fleet Foxes is 110 BPM — Moderato (moderate).
Half-time 55 BPM · Double-time 220 BPM · released 2020
Fan image for "Wading in Waist-High Water"
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Song DNA
Notes: Begins with gentle brushed acoustic chords and soft vocals, building to a sublime, ecstatic instrumental swell that creates a radiant, immersive soundscape without harshness. The dynamic progression from hush to intensity offers emotional release while remaining smooth and harmonious.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: deep listening emotional release relaxation
A folk-rock track opening the album Shore, celebrating the joy of human connection through poetic lyrics and a build from intimate hush to ecstatic instrumental layers.
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Hear it the way it was made
The right gear changes everything.
Moods: dreamy, intimate, uplifting
Traditions: folk rock, indie folk
Volume Warning
"Wading in Waist-High Water" climbs hard.
Dynamic range 7/10 places this in our upper band. The opening volume that feels comfortable will not be comfortable at the climax. If you are setting this up for a focused listen, anchor your volume to the quietest section, not the loudest. The arc is the point of the song; if you blunt it by riding the volume knob, you lose what makes it work. Fleet Foxes built the dynamic shape on purpose. Plan around it.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 7/10 means this song moves. Expect a real volume climb between quiet sections and the loudest part of the arrangement — enough that you may want to set the initial volume below where you'd normally land.
Sudden changes: present. This song uses surprise as a feature. For focus or background listening, it's likely to pull your attention away; for active listening, that's often the point.
Texture is layered — a full arrangement with clear separation between parts.
Predictability is medium — conventional structure overall, with one or two moments that deviate from what you'd expect.
Vocal style: soft vocals.
Where this sits in Fleet Foxes's catalog
We have 31 songs from Fleet Foxes in the library. Of those, 17 are rated Safe, 13 Moderate, and 1 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 7/10 sits above the artist average of 6.0, making it the #8 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
Other tracks from Shore
We have 11 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans safe in sensory profile.
- Can I Believe You — moderate DR 7
- Featherweight — safe DR 6
- A Long Way Past the Past — safe DR 6
- Sunblind — safe DR 6
- Maestranza — safe DR 6
- Oliver James — safe DR 5
- Cradling Mother Cradling Woman — moderate DR 6
- I Should See Memphis — moderate DR 6
- Shore — safe DR 6
- Lorelai — moderate DR 6
2020 context
Released in 2020. We have 475 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.2/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 2020s.
Explore by mood and tradition
How fast is "Wading in Waist-High Water"?
110 BPM — Upbeat (dance-pop / running warm-up)
For running
Too slow for most running; good for warm-up walks or cool-down.
For workouts
Steady cardio, power walking, light weights.
For daily life
Cooking, casual listening, cleaning, dinner music.
Browse more songs at 110 BPM.
When "Wading in Waist-High Water" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
✗
Focus / studying
No — too dynamic or too many surprises. Save for active listening.
~
Running / workout
Maybe — at 110 BPM this is more warm-up or cool-down pace than peak-effort running.
✗
Sleep / winding down
No — contains elements that will keep an awake nervous system engaged.
✓
Driving / road trip
Yes — predictable enough for safe driving attention, interesting enough to stay engaged.
✓
Cooking / dinner background
Yes — sits in the background without demanding attention.
~
Emotional release / catharsis
Not really — it's pleasant but doesn't hit hard enough for cathartic listening.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
I rated every Billie Eilish album by emotional intensity
From bedroom ASMR whispers to walls of distortion — a deep sensory dive into all three Billie Eilish studio albums and what each one actuall…
I Listened to Every Radiohead Album Through a Sensory Lens — Here's What I Found
Radiohead's nine albums analyzed through dynamic range, texture, and emotional intensity — from Pablo Honey's raw stadium rock to A Moon Sha…
Nick Cave's albums ranked by emotional darkness — which one is your nervous system ready for?
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds made some of the most devastating music in rock history. But not all darkness is the same. This guide ranks his …
Why this rating
We rate this song Moderate because it falls between our Safe and Intense thresholds on at least one dimension. Moderate is the default for most well-produced music that has real arc but no surprise elements. Full rubric: methodology.
This song in the Music Studio
51/100 intensity
See how “Wading in Waist-High Water” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
Listen on
Spotify and YouTube links go direct to the track when we have the ID; otherwise they search for it. Embed this sensory profile on your site →
Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-14. Reviewed by the Music I Want editorial team against the documented methodology.
Think this rating is wrong? Contact the editor — every message is read and ratings get revised.
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, moderate shifts, and soft 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
Runway Houses City Clouds — Tame Impala · 95%West Coast — Lana Del Rey · 94%All of My Thoughts — Spiritualized · 94%Shoot You Down — The Stone Roses · 93%
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 / hype6/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
2020 in context
The 475 songs we’ve measured from 2020 average a dynamic range of 6.2/10. At 7/10, this track is louder and more dynamic than its year.
Mixes smoothly with
Runway Houses City Clouds — Tame ImpalaKiss Them for Me — Siouxsie and the BansheesStrange Mercy — St Vincent
Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.
The fingerprint
Intensity51
Dynamics67
Tempo39
Surprise50
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force25
Trigger load0
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "Wading in Waist-High Water"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "Wading in Waist-High Water" by Fleet Foxes?
"Wading in Waist-High Water" by Fleet Foxes has a tempo of 110 BPM (Moderato (moderate)). At half-time that is 55 BPM, and at double-time 220 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "Wading in Waist-High Water" by Fleet Foxes?
"Wading in Waist-High Water" by Fleet Foxes rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 7/10, moderate sudden changes, layered texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.
How loud is "Wading in Waist-High Water" — what is its dynamic range?
"Wading in Waist-High Water" has a dynamic range of 7/10. Noticeable climb from quiet sections to loudest point. Set opening volume slightly lower than your preferred peak.
Does "Wading in Waist-High Water" have sudden or surprising changes?
Yes. "Wading in Waist-High Water" uses surprise as a compositional feature. Expect unsignaled transitions.
What is "Wading in Waist-High Water" best for?
In our library "Wading in Waist-High Water" is recommended for: deep listening, emotional release, relaxation. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "Wading in Waist-High Water" released?
"Wading in Waist-High Water" is from 2020, on the album "Shore". It appears in our 2020s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "Wading in Waist-High Water"?
We tag "Wading in Waist-High Water" as dreamy, intimate, uplifting. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "Wading in Waist-High Water"?
The vocal style is soft vocals.
Is "Wading in Waist-High Water" good for running?
Not really — at 110 BPM it's below most running cadences. Better for warm-up, cool-down, or walking. Recreational runners typically step at 140-175 BPM.
Is "Wading in Waist-High Water" good for studying?
Only partially. The song's dynamic range (7/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.
Can I use "Wading in Waist-High Water" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.
Should I listen to "Wading in Waist-High Water"?
"Wading in Waist-High Water" is Moderate intensity — fine for most listeners, but with enough dynamic activity that it works best as active listening rather than background.
Songs with the same DNA
layered texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.
Safer alternatives with a similar feel
These songs share similar moods but with a gentler sensory profile.
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Where to next?
You know how this one feels — now go find the next one.