Planetarium is a collaborative album featuring Bryce Dessner of the indie rock band The National, drummer James McAlister, contemporary classical music composer and arranger Nico Muhly, and singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens.

[3] The Guardian critic Kate Hutchinson dubbed Planetarium an "immersive, celestial space opera" and advised that it would be "best enjoyed loud, certainly in a live setting".

[14] In his review for Uncut, Jason Anderson found that Planetarium successfully synthesizes Dessner and Muhly’s "classical ventures" with Stevens' "adventurous pop songcraft", noting the latter's ability to tackle "a variety of subjects, perspectives and treatments without losing his focus".

[15] Thea Ballard of Pitchfork was more reserved in her praise, describing Planetarium as "sonically luxurious to the point of sometimes sounding bloated (as such big-ticket pop-classical commissions are wont to be).

Club, Josh Modell found that the album lacked focus: "It generally just plays like a wash of ideas without much of a through-line, despite its galaxy-driven conceit.