Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner & James McAlister - Planetarium
Critic Score
Based on 30 reviews
2017 Ratings: #517 / 940
User Score
Based on 435 ratings
2017 Rank: #612
Liked by 25 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

92
GIGsoup
“Planetarium” is much like looking up into the wondrous sky and seeing many beautiful stars, in that it takes a little while for the brain to absorb the surreal effect. Therefore, the more one listens to “Planetarium” play the more enlightened and pleasurable the listening experience becomes.
91
Pretty Much Amazing

Those who are solely fans of the acoustic heartbreak of Carrie and Lowell or the clear storytelling of Illinois will find this record obtuse and abrasive, but those ready to jump into the black hole and see what’s on the other side will find plenty to explore here.

90
Exclaim!

Planetarium does the solar system justice with almost every conceivable sound — from metallic auto-tune to rippling organ, to angelic strings and forceful horns — from four powerful multi-instrumentalists at the top of their respective games.

80
The 405
The album has clearly been something of a labour of love for its creators, and feels remarkably homogenous for something produced by four highly individual minds via a mixture of live and studio performance over several years.
80
Uncut

It’s this sense of childlike awe at the stars above and the possibilities they represent which Planetarium most strongly evokes with its bold and varied take on the music of the spheres.

80
The Guardian
It manages to balance ambient force fields, 70s sci-fi synths, chiming guitars, sublime string arrangements, Caribou-like shimmer-pulses and Stevens’s penchant for R&B rhythms to majestic and yet weightless effect, creating an immersive, celestial space opera that’s best enjoyed loud, certainly in a live setting.
80
Clash
For the most part, the record warrants its own expansiveness as themes of self-doubt, isolation and faith slowly supernova among dazzling ambient instrumentals, careening string sections and Sufjan’s warped vocals that bring harmony, hope and futurism to the cold, dense expanse of space.
80
The Independent

Progressive may be the apt term, as the planet-themed Planetarium is the kind of overarching conceptual work once considered de rigueur by prog-rockers like Rush and Yes, albeit effected within a modern sonic vocabulary of programmed beats, synthesised electronics, complex horn and string arrangements, and auto-tuned vocals.

80
Under the Radar

In its entirety, the ambition and scope of the project is matched by the combined talent and imagination of four musical friends whose association seemed to just emerge from the ether.

80
The Observer

The more you listen, the more Planetarium recalls Stevens’s glitchy, Auto-Tuned The Age of Adz album. Myth and science, astrology and astronomy, the personal and the political, religion and the profane commingle.

75
Northern Transmissions

While a tad long, this is a great ambitious record to say the least. The jaw-dropping moments really warrant its release and overall it proves cool ambitious projects this weird should still exist.

75
Consequence of Sound

The result is expansive and dense, if inconsistent, and scattered with gems.

72
Paste

To be sure, Planetarium is not perfect. That it hangs together as well as it does is a testament to the considerable talents of the people who created it.

70
Drowned in Sound

Planetarium only occasionally feels absolutely essential, but it never dips below ‘pretty good’.

70
PopMatters

Although overly padded and repetitious at times, Planetarium is a poignant, adventurous, and highly promising debut; if the quartet can trim the fat in the future, they’ll truly reach their potential.

60
God Is in the TV
There’s a reasonably solid Sufjan Stevens EP in here, and a majestic Nico Muhly film score, certainly. But for a record more than five years in the making, one might have hoped their stars would be more sweetly aligned by now.
60
Mojo

There are some lovely moments. ... But ultimately, the impossible ambition of Planetarium looms over every single moment.

60
DIY

It’s beautifully crafted, but if there’s a major criticism to be had of ‘Planetarium,’ it’s that its sheer size and scope is almost as enormous as the universe itself – perhaps too enormous.

60
AllMusic
It's a sprawling effort with an over-70-minute running time, but also a haunting one, recommended for musically adventurous stargazers of all types.
60
Q Magazine
Moments of spine-tingling transcendence outweigh those of aimless noodling.
60
Pitchfork

Perhaps it’s because of the lack of a center to all this big-question reaching, or perhaps it’s because of its absurd detours, but I found much of Planetarium difficult to get close to.

58
A.V. Club

Though the finished product feels less like an album and more of a huge score that happens to feature Stevens’ unmistakable voice on most of its tracks. Notably missing from the entire affair: anything resembling a traditional chorus or pop structure.

50
Loud and Quiet
Five years on, the performances have been rearranged in the studio, and the result is a little akin to staring up into a planetarium’s dome: bewildering, sporadically beautiful, almost terrifyingly random, and not quite as satisfying as experiencing first hand the thing it’s depicting.
50
The Needle Drop

For an album inspired by the cosmos, Planetarium is lacking quite a bit in the way of flow and harmony.

50
musicOMH

Planetarium is a boldly ambitious statement from a lavishly talented group of individuals, but ultimately it doesn’t quite scale the lofty, intergalactic heights it aspires to.

mike_drop
40

Sufjan Stevens - 9/13

"Planetarium" sees Sufjan Stevens returning to the electronic soundscapes presented on "The Age of Adz", but with an even heavier emphasis on atmosphere. There are tons of fully ambient moments that appear on the album, making it one of his most unique and unusual projects to date. However, although I do appreciate Sufjan for switching up his sound yet again and experimenting this much, I must admit that this record is an absolute fucking snoozefest. ... read more

SnowyFighter
79

Sufjan enters his Aphex Twin phase

Hmmmm. I think this is a bit of an understated Sufjan project. While not as grand or as consistent as his best work, there are a lot of cool moments here that makes me want to return to it. Moon is my favorite song on here and it sounds like if he teamed up with Bjork during her Vespertine era and I love it. Pluto is also a top tier Sufjan song. GIVE PLUTO THE RECOGNITION IT DESERVES AS A PLANET AND A SONG. Mercury is a super hypnotizing and fantastic closer. ... read more

Zaias
80

Sufjan Stevens - Discography (17/24)

omg I became a Sufjan's bitch

imverydepressed
40

While "Planetarium" may have had the potential to be a transcendent musical experience, it ultimately falls short of the mark.

OlManWrinkles
67

This album was fine, chill background music for the most part, it didnt do anything new and was pretty boring overall

BINGYGINGY80808
86

Better than Carrie and Lowell

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Track List

1Neptune
3:04
77
2Jupiter
7:10
82
3Halley's Comet
0:30
58
4Venus
4:42
68
5Uranus
6:51
75
6Mars
7:08
70
7Black Energy
5:25
58
8Sun
3:59
60
9Tides
0:58
59
10Moon
3:42
72
11Pluto
4:23
76
12Kuiper Belt
2:04
68
13Black Hole
0:33
55
14Saturn
3:51
72
15In The Beginning
1:17
61
16Earth
15:10
72
17Mercury
5:12
82
Total Length: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Year End Lists

#23/Under the Radar
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Added on: March 27, 2017