"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Tell Me Lies" by The Black Keys. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: energetic, rebellious. 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 focus.
124
BPM
Tell Me Lies by The Black Keys is 124 BPM — Allegro (fast).
Half-time 62 BPM · Double-time 248 BPM · released 2019
Fan image for "Tell Me Lies"
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Song DNA
Notes: Features gritty garage rock guitars and steady drums with moderate energy and some dynamic shifts, but no harsh abrasiveness. Overall balanced production suitable for most listeners without overwhelming intensity.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: energy movement workout
Garage rock track with driving rhythm, distorted guitars, and lyrics about deception in relationships from The Black Keys' 2019 album Let's Rock.
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Hear it the way it was made
The right gear changes everything.
Moods: energetic, rebellious
Traditions: blues rock, garage rock
At a glance
"Tell Me Lies" by The Black Keys
124 BPM, dynamic range 6/10, layered texture, dynamic 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: dynamic vocals.
Where this sits in The Black Keys's catalog
We have 40 songs from The Black Keys in the library. Of those, 1 are rated Safe, 31 Moderate, and 8 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 6/10 sits below the artist average of 6.7, making it the #33 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
Other tracks from Let's Rock
We have 6 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans moderate in sensory profile.
- Get Yourself Together — moderate DR 7
- Eagle Birds — safe DR 5
- Lo/Hi — intense DR 8
- Walk Across The Water — moderate DR 6
- Shine a Little Light — moderate DR 7
2019 context
Released in 2019. We have 448 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.1/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 2010s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Guides that may help
low-intensity Workout Music: Energy Without Overwhelm
low-intensity Workout Music: Energy Without Overwhelm — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on m…
The Calmest Songs We’ve Ever Measured
Out of 19,144 songs scored for intensity, these measure as the very calmest — the gentlest, steadies…
Even Flow: Pearl Jam’s Song for the Man Everyone Walks Past
Even Flow is Pearl Jam at full throttle — and underneath the riff is a portrait of a homeless man an…
How fast is "Tell Me Lies"?
124 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
Steady cardio, power walking, light weights.
For daily life
Driving, getting ready in the morning, light party.
Browse more songs at 124 BPM.
When "Tell Me Lies" 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
Yes — 124 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
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.
low-intensity Workout Music: Energy Without Overwhelm
low-intensity Workout Music: Energy Without Overwhelm — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
Godspeed You! Black Emperor and the art of the twenty-minute build
The widest dynamic range in music — yet gentler on a sensitive nervous system than a pop song. A sensory guide to post-rock's patient giants…
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 enough happening to occupy the part of y…
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
49/100 intensity
See how “Tell Me Lies” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
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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 55% of songs, calmer than the other 45%. Its intensity reading of 49/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, 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 81% 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
Set You Free — The Black Keys · 99%Fashion — David Bowie · 99%The Denial Twist — The White Stripes · 99%Most Likely You Go Your Way (and I'll Go Mine) — Bob Dylan · 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
Sleep4/10
Focus7/10
Workout6/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype5/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
2019 in context
The 448 songs we’ve measured from 2019 average a dynamic range of 6.1/10. 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
Intensity49
Dynamics56
Tempo47
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force75
Trigger load13
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "Tell Me Lies"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "Tell Me Lies" by The Black Keys?
"Tell Me Lies" by The Black Keys has a tempo of 124 BPM (Allegro (fast)). At half-time that is 62 BPM, and at double-time 248 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "Tell Me Lies" by The Black Keys?
"Tell Me Lies" by The Black Keys 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 "Tell Me Lies" — what is its dynamic range?
"Tell Me Lies" 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 "Tell Me Lies" have sudden or surprising changes?
"Tell Me Lies" has mild sudden changes — one or two transitions worth knowing about, but they are musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
What is "Tell Me Lies" best for?
In our library "Tell Me Lies" is recommended for: energy, movement, workout. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "Tell Me Lies" released?
"Tell Me Lies" is from 2019, on the album "Let's Rock". It appears in our 2010s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "Tell Me Lies"?
We tag "Tell Me Lies" as energetic, rebellious. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "Tell Me Lies"?
The vocal style is dynamic vocals.
Is "Tell Me Lies" good for running?
Yes — at 124 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 "Tell Me Lies" 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 "Tell Me Lies" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.
Should I listen to "Tell Me Lies"?
"Tell Me Lies" 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.