MGMT was commissioned by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum to write an original composition for the retrospective of installation artist Maurizio Cattelan, featuring 130 art pieces suspended in mid air.

They stated that the band "they floated new ways to balance their melody-forward sensibilities with their artier, more exploratory instincts" during the performance.

Albeit, stating that "in its mellower lulls and boxy acoustics the recording sounds more like what it is: background music for an art show".

On the other hand, they stated that the instrumental pieces on the record "frolic into sheer whimsy", with tracks such as "Forest Elf" playing like "celestial on-hold music", while "Whistling Through the Graveyard" conjures up "old children's Christmas music by way of circus calliopes and lost exotica records".

Overall, the record "inevitably takes on a different context than it would have if the band hadn't waited over a decade to release it, since now we know how their arc played out", stating that "as a record, it's fine, but as a career move, it felt like a retreat", overall, believing that "11•11•11 invites nostalgia for when this band was still torn between its impulse to entertain and its personal mission to challenge".