"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "When the Spell Is Broken" by Richard Thompson. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: bitter, introspective, melancholy. Visual style: 1980s editorial aesthetic, neon accents against moody ground. 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."
When the Spell Is Broken
Richard Thompson
Across a Crowded Room (1985)
AI-analyzed — check another song
Balanced energy, right in the middle of 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for focus.
128
BPM
When the Spell Is Broken by Richard Thompson is 128 BPM — Allegro (fast).
Half-time 64 BPM · Double-time 256 BPM · released 1985
Fan image for "When the Spell Is Broken"
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.
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Song DNA
Notes: Bitter, ragged-edged vocals and choppy, slightly dissonant guitar solos create a tense, emotional texture without overwhelming harshness. Folk-rock production offers a polished yet raw feel with up-tempo drive.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: deep listening emotional release
A caustic break-up song reflecting personal turmoil, featuring tense guitar work, impassioned Celtic-toned vocals, and pitiless romantic cynicism in a folk-rock style.
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Hear it the way it was made
The right gear changes everything.
Moods: bitter, introspective, melancholy
Traditions: folk-rock
Volume Warning
"When the Spell Is Broken" 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. Richard Thompson 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: 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: dynamic vocals.
Where this sits in Richard Thompson's catalog
We have 12 songs from Richard Thompson in the library. Of those, 4 are rated Safe, 8 Moderate, and 0 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 7/10 sits above the artist average of 5.4, making it the #1 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
1985 context
Released in 1985. We have 186 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.4/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 1980s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Traditions
folk-rock · 25How fast is "When the Spell Is Broken"?
128 BPM — Upbeat (dance-pop / running warm-up)
For running
Slow jog or recovery run pace. Matches a 120-140 stride-per-minute cadence.
For workouts
Running, cycling, aerobic workouts, dance cardio.
For daily life
Driving, getting ready in the morning, light party.
Browse more songs at 128 BPM.
When "When the Spell Is Broken" 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
Yes — 128 BPM sits squarely in the running / cardio band. Matches natural stride cadence.
✗
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
Yes — this is a song for actively feeling what you came to feel, not for background.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
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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
54/100 intensity
See how “When the Spell Is Broken” 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 74% of songs, calmer than the other 26%. Its intensity reading of 54/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and dynamic 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 a fast, driving tempo: more extreme on that axis than 84% 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
The One I Love — R.E.M. · 99%We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love) — Ariana Grande · 99%Half Light II (No Celebration) — Arcade Fire · 99%Never Stop — Echo & the Bunnymen · 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
Sleep3/10
Focus7/10
Workout7/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype6/10
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 7/10, this track is right in line with its year.
Mixes smoothly with
Callin' Baton Rouge — Garth BrooksI'm Not Alone — Calvin HarrisShe Wolf (Falling to Pieces) — David Guetta feat. Sia
Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.
The fingerprint
Intensity54
Dynamics67
Tempo49
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force75
Trigger load0
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "When the Spell Is Broken"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "When the Spell Is Broken" by Richard Thompson?
"When the Spell Is Broken" by Richard Thompson has a tempo of 128 BPM (Allegro (fast)). At half-time that is 64 BPM, and at double-time 256 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "When the Spell Is Broken" by Richard Thompson?
"When the Spell Is Broken" by Richard Thompson rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 7/10, mild sudden changes, layered texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.
How loud is "When the Spell Is Broken" — what is its dynamic range?
"When the Spell Is Broken" 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 "When the Spell Is Broken" have sudden or surprising changes?
"When the Spell Is Broken" has mild sudden changes — one or two transitions worth knowing about, but they are musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
What is "When the Spell Is Broken" best for?
In our library "When the Spell Is Broken" is recommended for: deep listening, emotional release. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "When the Spell Is Broken" released?
"When the Spell Is Broken" is from 1985, on the album "Across a Crowded Room". It appears in our 1980s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "When the Spell Is Broken"?
We tag "When the Spell Is Broken" as bitter, introspective, melancholy. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "When the Spell Is Broken"?
The vocal style is dynamic vocals.
Is "When the Spell Is Broken" good for running?
Yes — at 128 BPM it sits in the running-cadence band (120-180 BPM). Match your stride to the beat and it keeps pace with most recreational runners.
Is "When the Spell Is Broken" 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 "When the Spell Is Broken" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.
Should I listen to "When the Spell Is Broken"?
"When the Spell Is Broken" 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?
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