Planetarium
A massive, cosmic collaboration merging orchestral grandeur with icy vocoders and synth-heavy ambient pop. An expansive, stargazing journey through our solar system.
A massive, cosmic collaboration merging orchestral grandeur with icy vocoders and synth-heavy ambient pop. An expansive, stargazing journey through our solar system.
Collaborative detour
Icy vocoders and swelling brass collide like space dust, pulling you into a cold, glittering velvet void.
Heavy layers of processed vocals transform the singing into a synthetic, alien transmission, replacing the familiar acoustic intimacy with a cold yet deeply human digital choir.
Critics broadly admired the album’s celestial grandeur and richly textured production, highlighting its evocative blend of acoustic warmth, digital experimentation, and pop sensibilities. At the same time, some reviewers noted that the project's massive scope and seventy-plus-minute length could make the dense volume of ideas feel somewhat overwhelming.
“Maybe a 15-minute suite called “Earth” is your thing, or maybe you love Sufjan Stevens enough that his voice in any context is worth a spin. Anyone else might want to hold out for the next proper set”Read review
“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”Read review
“We’ll be lucky if the year yields another headphone album as sumptuous as this one”Read review
“Although overly padded and repetitious at times, Planetarium is a poignant, adventurous, and highly promising debut”Read review
“Features lush, lilting instrumentals unfurling from Stevens’ tightly-wound pop choruses, though its glut of sound and ideas becomes wearisome”Read review
“Grandeur meets digital mayhem on this heavenly suite of songs about our solar system, updated since its live debut five years ago”Read review
“That it hangs together as well as it does is a testament to the considerable talents of the people who created it”Read review
“Most of the tracks stretch to around seven minutes, save for “Earth”, a 15-minute sonic tableau slipping between passages of swelling horns, murmured recitation, guitar noises and beat tsunami”Read review
“An ambitious project that, at its best, brings intimacy to the colossal weight of the universe”Read review
“Majestic celestial space opera”Read review
“Dazzling ambient instrumentals, careening string sections and Sufjan’s warped vocals that bring harmony, hope and futurism to the cold, dense expanse of space”Read review
“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”Read review
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