Credit: Monstercat
Galaxies Within Us
[By: Kill Paris]
Genre: Future bass
Rating: 70
Cohesiveness: 71
Track quality: 70
Beginner-friendly? sure
Written 2026/04/09
Rich, reflective, yet boldly outward-facing, Galaxies Within Us does well to exhibit variety.
As a sequel to 2015's Galaxies Between Us, Kill Paris brings his pop-driven sound to his sophomore studio album. It follows the tenets of future bass - impactful drops with noticeable bassline injections, locked in an embrace with optimstic lyricism and generally upbeat vocal performances. But, irregardless of any tenets, it walks to the beat of its own drum. Quite literally, because Kill Paris constantly branches out of the genre. Galaxies Within Us bounces through glitch hop, wallows in immersive house and tries its hand at midtempo and R&B and even a capella. Diversity is not a problem for this album by any means.
Neither, to be honest, is mood. Although Galaxies Within Us doesn't try for a broad, expansive narrative, it doesn't pretend to be something bigger than it is. Instead, it chooses to accentuate the minute things, and Kill Paris proves himself to be something of an idealist. A grounded idealist, but an idealist nonetheless. And, thus, so does Galaxies Within Us, deeply rooted in the highs and lows of the real world, pointing a magnifying glass inwards and revealing those small moments of euphoria we can never quite put into words. "Breathing In, Letting Go" and "Cool Ranch" are undeniable moments of quiet catharsis slotting into a soundscape of layered bass music, sounding complete in all their facets and bringing forth a bubbling solitude. Then there's the brazen, triumphant sounds of "Fizzy Lifting Drink", or the powerful lead of "Two Minds", that each punctuate Galaxies Within Us with a spray of musical fireworks that revel in themselves. Emotional quality and introspectiveness provides potent leverage for any album - any art at all - but this is a record that maintains its upbeat, danceable energy even through the reflection.
It is perhaps severed from the real world, then, but it refuses to be. Galaxies Within Us is a great oak tree; its branches hang low to feed you with fruits that highlight the nuances of your thoughts, sheltering you from the melancholy that typically accompanies an emotionally-driven album such as this one. The more danceable beats do a lot of heavy lifting in this regard, particularly on the house tracks or the more euphoric cuts - they serve to energize, riding an inexplicable high across forty minutes of runtime. Like any great oak tree, Galaxies Within Us has a solid, immovable foundation.
I find myself feeling, at times, that it drifts from that foundation. Galaxies Within Us is tied together stylistically, but that is the only adhesive it holds itself together by. Whilst there are plenty of standouts, there are equally plenty of cuts that do not stand at all, even if they sit at the level of 'decent' individually. Kill Paris pulls through "Sunshine", and later, "We Are One", as if they never even occurred; any substance they may have summoned up is quickly lost in the vocals of the surrounding tracks. The sample-based cuts too have some creative production at times, and many of the poppier ones hoist strong vocals that aren't quite justified by the following drop - "Easy On Me" comes to mind, with FATHERDUDE's adept verses left hanging by a bizarrely empty climax. The upbeat tonality of the record only takes it as far as its individual tracks, and with nothing else to bind Galaxies Within Us together, it is unfortunately limited in quality.
This is a record that drops its floor to be accomodating, but could not heighten its ceiling. In the newfound space, Kill Paris finds the molasses of an album that sounds mesmerizing, but Galaxies Within Us cannot escape the bounds of merely 'enjoyable'. A strong showing nonetheless from Kill Paris, but there is clearly something to be said that hangs in the silent air at the record's conclusion.
Listen on Spotify here.
Life Is A Rhythm [Structural] | (/100)
w/ Wim Hof
Wim Hof (A.K.A "The Iceman" himself) gives a peace-instiilling, meditative spoken-word vocal over some minimal synth padding that slowly but surely builds and builds into the next track. It's a very well-done intro, though part of me wishes it was a full track.
Magic [Standout] | (/100)
Jumpy vocal songwriting and placid verse production front "Magic", slowly preparing you for a drop you can't quite anticipate. A punchy refrain of "the dream of us is magic" smoothly transitions into a powerful, bassy glitch hop drop, impactful without killing the rest of the song.
I Can Feel Your Love [Fun] | (/100)
The bubbly, rolling aesthetic of "I Can Feel Your Love" is appealing and oddly funky, with the sample floating through the mix to its heart's content. It's not the flashiest track, but it's feel-good and bouncy.
Easy On Me [Catchy] | (/100)
w/ FATHERDUDE
FATHERDUDE's vocal is strong and Kill Paris accompanies him well in his verses, prepping a big bass hit for the drops. Whilst the hit does happen, the drops feel weirdly empty and quiet - their tonal whiplash holds the otherwise great verses back.
I (Still) Dream of You [Intense] | (/100)
Immediately from the intro, "I (Still) Dream of You" suggests a faster-paced beat, with its sample processed to a neon edge. The builds are great, and there's a particularly notable sound design to the drops, though the complex trap of the first one feels a little on-the-nose.
Fizzy Lifting Drink [Standout] | (/100)
w/ Jimi Tents, Big Gigantic
Jimi Tents pitches in a solid rap vocal - his flow is consistent and unwavering, and the two production acts attempt to do him right in the drops. They sound trumpeting and triumphant, but unfortunately abrasive.
Sunshine [Melodic] | (/100)
"Sunshine" is relatively forgettable in the grand scheme of the album. Future bass to the tee, its sounds are appealing and its atmosphere is bright and optimistic, but it doesn't add much in terms of ideas, nor does it have enough substance or runtime.
Inside Out [Standout] | (/100)
w/ Tim Moyo, KUDA
Another strong vocal performance, this time from Tim Moyo and KUDA, and Kill Paris now successfully deliver on the followup. Simple, boppy verse production lets the vocalists take the spotlight, and the drops themselves feel rich and satisfying, with a more concentrated second drop.
Breathing In, Letting Go [Structural] | (/100)
w/ Wim Hof
Almost as if following up the intro, The Iceman comes back for another meditative spoken-word interlude. This one feels much happier, and Kill Paris provides some ambient backing to Wim Hof, before delving into their own minimalistic four-on-the-floor movement. Not the most replayable, but a solid track, though it's shown up by what's to come.
Cool Ranch [Laid-back] | (/100)
"Cool Ranch" continues the minimalistic yet oddly funky four-on-the-floor beat from "Breathing In, Letting Go", but it incrementally improves upon it. The atmosphere here is impeccable; it's relaxed and expansive, providing an peculiar engagement (for an atmosphere-driven cut) by being intriguing rather than immersive.
Vision Funk [Fun] | (/100)
The promise of funk in the song title is delivered here. A house beat delivers an immediate sense of danceability, before slipping into a French-house-esque drop that's deceptively reserved for how groovy it really is. Kill Paris have undeniably executed this one cleverly.
Two Minds [Standout] | (/100)
w/ Tim Moyo
Tim Moyo makes a return for another catchy performance, this one more reliant on its chorus, and Kill Paris deliver perhaps the most impactful drop on the record, driven by its powerful bass signature but dictated by the lead that contains it.
We Are One [Upbeat] | (/100)
"We Are One" has an undeniable groove to it, but it feels restrained by its atmosphere. Ultimately it boils down to a lot of the sample-driven cuts off this record, in that it's engaging for the first half but finds itself unable to change sufficiently to remain that way for the second half.
Laura [Melodic] | (/100)
"Laura" is inexplicably cinematic. The future bass is a little old-school and feels somewhat dated in the modern era, but it also feels nostalgic and expansive. I think "Laura" suffers mostly due to the tracklisting - it's a great finale in a vaccuum, but after all the other instrumental future bass cuts it's easy to overlook and doesn't quite pack the punch it should have.
Random [Structural] | (/100)
This outro is perhaps the weirdest track on this album. It's a capella, but heavily processed and autotuned into a warped, almost psychedelic version of itself - part of me wishes it was longer, but the novelty and proficient songwriting make "Random" a surprisingly strong outro.
- Cool Ranch (/100)
- Two Minds w/ Tim Moyo (/100)
- Inside Out w/ Tim Moyo, KUDA (/100)
- Magic (/100)
- Vision Funk (/100)
- Random (/100)
- I Can Feel Your Love (/100)
- I (Still) Dream of You (/100)
- Life Is A Rhythm w/ Wim Hof (/100)
- Breathing In, Letting Go w/ Wim Hof (/100)
- Laura (/100)
- Fizzy Lifting Drink w/ Jimi Tents, Big Gigantic (/100)
- Easy On Me w/ FATHERDUDE (/100)
- We Are One (/100)
- Sunshine (/100)