Planetarium

Leave it to someone as ambitious as Sufjan Stevens—who once pledged to write an album for every U.S. state—to help dream up a song cycle about the cosmos. Starting life as a commissioned work by the composer Nico Muhly, *Planetarium* pairs Muhly and Stevens with National guitarist Bryce Dessner and percussionist James McAllister for a restless, eclectic set that weaves from Auto-Tuned R&B and trombone chorales (“Mars”) to sparkling washes of ambience (“In the Beginning”) and wide-eyed EDM (“Saturn”). It’s an indie-world take on the wonders of \'70s prog.

The supergroup’s cosmic concerto features lush, lilting instrumentals unfurling from Stevens’ tightly-wound pop choruses, though its glut of sound and ideas becomes wearisome.

[Partisan]

The tie that binds it all together is Stevens’ voice and his vision. Both are distinctive and powerful.

Too many ideas and a lack of focus at times

Its sheer scale can be as daunting as the vastness of what lies beyond the stratosphere.

Also Chuck Berry and Lindsay Buckingham/Christine McVie

Take three co-commissioning music halls from Belgium, Australia and the UK; add four acclaimed American songwriters, a string quartet, seven...

The stars ultimately aligned in the assembly of contemporary classical music composer Nico Muhly with friends Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, and the multidimensional James McAlister for their collaborative project with a far reaching theme.

Like all great works of science fiction, ‘Planetarium’ projects our most earthbound fears into the cosmos. Sufjan Stevens and a constellation

Grandeur meets digital mayhem on this heavenly suite of songs about our solar system, updated since its live debut five years ago

'Planetarium' – Sufjan Stevens' collaboration album with Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly and James McAlister – is bludgeoned by bizarre electronica.

Planetarium LP review: Their take on our solar system from Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner and James McAlister is magic but is it sustainable?

Bounces from Top 40 pop, piano ballads, dubstep freak outs and terrifying ambient interludes.

Album Reviews: Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly, James McAlister - Planetarium

The songwriter collaborates with Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly and James McAlister on Planetarium