In an interview with website BrightestYoungThings, lead singer Yukimi Nagano said, "It's a bunch of pics of our parents and relatives so there's that obvious connection [the overt idea of marriage].

[14] "Crystalfilm" was featured in the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows versions of Grand Theft Auto V.[15] "Seconds" was sampled by Eminem on the track "Normal" from 2018's Kamikaze.

[17] The Daily Telegraph's Andrew Perry described the album as a "spellbinding collection of digital exotica", concluding, "Though consistently ground-breaking and lyrically challenging, Ritual Union never feels like hard work.

[24] Joe Lynch of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Straddling the line between slinky funk and outsider electronica, [Ritual Union] is full of pheromone-drenched surprises: It's ambient R&B for restless nights.

[19] Reef Younis of Clash wrote, "Straightaway Yukimi Nagano's husky-yet-girlish vocal weaves amidst the shape-shifting backdrops of minimal funk, dreamy pop and electro soul, and you're mesmerised.

"[27] The Independent's Andy Gill complimented Nagano's "bewitching" vocals and stated she is "surely destined to become one of the voices of the year, while her accomplices' subtle confections of minimal electro throbs and stripped-back beats has an alluring simplicity that's like a refreshing, palate-cleansing sorbet".

[20] Marc Hogan of Spin praised the album as "another slab of great Scandinavian pop" and expressed that it "deepens the group's down-tempo mix of icy techno and smoldering R&B".

[25] At NME, Dan Martin viewed Ritual Union as "a conflicted, confusing album that's as infuriating as it is intermittently enchanting", adding that "on this lovely little patchwork pop record, there's enough going on to make you actually quite scared of what they'd come up with if they had a budget".