"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "House by the Sea" by Iron & Wine. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: contemplative, dreamy, nostalgic. Visual style: 2000s digital 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."
Easy, low-key calm, right in the middle of 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for focus.
110
BPM
House by the Sea by Iron & Wine is 110 BPM — Moderato (moderate).
Half-time 55 BPM · Double-time 220 BPM · released 2007
Fan image for "House by the Sea"
An abstract illustration of what this song feels like. Each image is built from a prompt — the text description fed to the image generator. Listeners submit their own prompts, upvote the ones that fit best, and the top-voted prompt drives the next regeneration. After 100 image votes, we make a new picture.
Does this image fit the song?
0 agree · 0 not quite · 0/100 toward next regeneration
Prompts in the running for the next image
Upvote the prompts you think best capture the song. The top-voted prompt drives the next regeneration. Submit your own at the bottom.
No listener prompts yet. Be the first to submit one below.
How would you describe this song?
One or two sentences. Describe what the song feels like — a scene, a metaphor, a color, a place. Good descriptions are specific and sensory. Your submission becomes a candidate prompt that others can upvote.
Share:
Share on X
Explore from this song · jump to the numbers · FAQ
Find its sonic twinHidden gems like itDial itSongs like thisAll tools
Song DNA
Notes: Features subtle tribal percussion and world-music rhythms that create a gentle, hypnotic flow without harsh edges. Acoustic folk elements blend smoothly with mild dynamic shifts for an engaging yet non-overwhelming listen.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: deep listening focus relaxation
A folk track with West African Highlife influences, tribal drums, and introspective lyrics exploring themes like God's absence, marking a shift to fuller production in Iron & Wine's evolving sound.
affiliate links
Hear it the way it was made
The right gear changes everything.
Moods: contemplative, dreamy, nostalgic
Traditions: indie folk, world music
At a glance
"House by the Sea" by Iron & Wine
110 BPM, dynamic range 6/10, layered texture, soft vocals. Sits in the middle band — neither built for stillness nor pitched at workout intensity. Whether it works for a given moment depends more on mood and lyrical content than on the acoustic profile. The full sensory breakdown follows.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 6/10 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: mild. There are one or two transitions worth knowing about, though they're musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
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 Iron & Wine's catalog
We have 17 songs from Iron & Wine in the library. Of those, 12 are rated Safe, 5 Moderate, and 0 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 6/10 sits above the artist average of 3.9, making it the #1 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
Other tracks from The Shepherd's Dog
We have 4 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans moderate in sensory profile.
- Flightless Bird, American Mouth — moderate DR 4
- Boy with a Coin — safe DR 3
- Lovesong of the Buzzard — moderate DR 5
2007 context
Released in 2007. We have 311 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.3/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 2000s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Guides that may help
Why Post-Rock Works for Focus — The Logic of Slow Builds
Why post-rock holds attention that slides off everything else: long builds, few sudden changes, and …
How to Build the Perfect Focus Playlist for Work — A Sensory-Rated Approach
How to Build the Perfect Focus Playlist for Work — A Sensory-Rated Approach — A guide for sensory-se…
Why Video Game Soundtracks Are Perfect for Focus and Study
Why Video Game Soundtracks Are Perfect for Focus and Study — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners…
How fast is "House by the Sea"?
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 "House by the Sea" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
~
Focus / studying
Maybe — fine for routine work, but the mid-song changes may pull attention during deep focus.
~
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.
Bossa nova is the calmest revolution in music — and the most precisely engineered
Filed under easy listening, bossa nova is actually one of the most harmonically and rhythmically sophisticated genres ever made. A sensory a…
The 10 Calmest Albums Ever Recorded — A low-intensity Listening Guide
The 10 Calmest Albums Ever Recorded — A low-intensity Listening Guide — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
Music for Meltdown Recovery: What to Play When the World Is Too Much
Music for Meltdown Recovery: What to Play When the World Is Too Much — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
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
40/100 intensity
See how “House by the Sea” 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 →
For focused listening
Independently chosen tools listed on eBay. We may earn a commission from these links, at no extra cost to you.
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 34% of songs, calmer than the other 66%. Its intensity reading of 40/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild 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 an unusually steady, even volume: more extreme on that axis than 79% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.
Feels almost identical to
Future Days — Can · 99%Fragments of Time — Daft Punk · 99%Pelota — Khruangbin · 99%Still on Fire — Aztec Camera · 99%
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
Sleep6/10
Focus10/10
Workout2/10
Dinner8/10
Party / hype5/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
2007 in context
The 311 songs we’ve measured from 2007 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. At 6/10, this track is right in line with its year.
Mixes smoothly with
Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.
The fingerprint
Intensity40
Dynamics56
Tempo39
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force25
Trigger load13
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "House by the Sea"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "House by the Sea" by Iron & Wine?
"House by the Sea" by Iron & Wine 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 "House by the Sea" by Iron & Wine?
"House by the Sea" by Iron & Wine rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 6/10, mild sudden changes, layered texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.
How loud is "House by the Sea" — what is its dynamic range?
"House by the Sea" has a dynamic range of 6/10. Noticeable climb from quiet sections to loudest point. Set opening volume slightly lower than your preferred peak.
Does "House by the Sea" have sudden or surprising changes?
"House by the Sea" has mild sudden changes — one or two transitions worth knowing about, but they are musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
What is "House by the Sea" best for?
In our library "House by the Sea" is recommended for: deep listening, focus, relaxation. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "House by the Sea" released?
"House by the Sea" is from 2007, on the album "The Shepherd's Dog". It appears in our 2000s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "House by the Sea"?
We tag "House by the Sea" as contemplative, dreamy, nostalgic. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "House by the Sea"?
The vocal style is soft vocals.
Is "House by the Sea" 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 "House by the Sea" good for studying?
Only partially. The song's dynamic range (6/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.
Can I use "House by the Sea" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.
Should I listen to "House by the Sea"?
"House by the Sea" 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.
What this song means to people
No stories yet. Be the first.
Share what this song means to you
Keep exploring
Where to next?
You know how this one feels — now go find the next one.