Victoria Canal Slowly, It Dawns
Victoria Canal's Slowly, It Dawns arrives as a quietly assured debut that maps quarter-life crisis anxieties onto songs of vivid warmth and devastation. Across professional reviews, critics agree the record balances pop immediacy with torch-song intimacy, turning personal revelation into sharply crafted moments that linger long after the final notes.
The critical consensus, reflected in an 82/100 score across 4 professional reviews, highlights standout tracks repeatedly named by reviewers: “swan song”, “June Baby”, and “California Sober”. Critics consistently praise “June Baby” for its sunny, yearning romance and “swan song” for its grief-and-hope closure, while “California Sober” and “Cake” are cited for widening Canal's palette with flirtatious, adventurous production. Reviewers note the record's recurring themes - introspection, love and relationships, genre fluidity, and the duality of grief and hope - and credit Canal's songwriting craft for making those themes feel immediate and personal.
While some reviews emphasize the album's stylistic echoes of peers, the prevailing view sees those influences absorbed into a voice that is unmistakably hers. Songs like “Barely” and “Totally Fucking Fine” are singled out for raw intimacy and immersive calm, underscoring the album's tension between youthful lust and devastation. Across four professional reviews, critics agree the collection is both accomplished and revealing, positioning Slowly, It Dawns as a debut worth close listening.
Read on for the full reviews and deeper track-by-track analysis of why critics call these the best songs on Slowly, It Dawns.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Barely
1 mention
"‘Barely’ standing out as a particularly raw but striking highlight"— DIY Magazine
swan song
4 mentions
"her previous stand-out singles ‘Black Swan’ and ‘swan song’"— DIY Magazine
Black Swan
3 mentions
"her previous stand-out singles ‘Black Swan’ and ‘swan song’"— DIY Magazine
‘Barely’ standing out as a particularly raw but striking highlight
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
June Baby
Talk
California Sober
Cake
15%
Vauxhall
How Can I Be A Person?
Totally Fucking Fine
Hollow
Barely
Black Swan
swan song
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 5 critics who reviewed this album
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Critic's Take
With two Ivor Novello awards and a Chris Martin mentorship, Victoria Canal arrives with a debut that shows where the best tracks live on Slowly, It Dawns. The review highlights “California Sober” as blazing with the lust of youth and casts “Cake” as an ominous purr that briefly sounds like early Billie Eilish - those are the best songs on Slowly, It Dawns, vivid and memorable. At the same time “How Can I Be a Person?” and “15%” are singled out for emotional weight and craft, explaining why listeners asking "best tracks on Slowly, It Dawns" will keep returning to those cuts. Overall the critic frames the album as accomplished, drawing from the familiar but steered into unexpected, wholly hers moments.
Key Points
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The best song is best because it captures vivid youthful lust and memorable rhythmic identity.
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The album’s core strengths are songwriting craft and genre fluidity that steer familiar influences into original moments.
Themes
Critic's Take
Victoria Canal’s Slowly, It Dawns is at its most affecting in songs such as “June Baby” and “Swan Song”, where Canal spins raw emotion into beautifully crafted songs. The record mines quarter-life crisis moments with candour - summer romance in “June Baby” and the moving grief-and-hope closure of “Swan Song” linger longest. Musically adventurous cuts like “Cake” and “California Sober” widen her palette while keeping the songwriting central. This is a debut that sits with you, balancing sweetness and sharpness in equal measure.
Key Points
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The best song is the closing pair, especially 'swan song', because it blends grief and hope into a poignant, resonant finale.
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The album’s core strengths are candid, craft-focused songwriting and a willingness to broaden its sonic palette while keeping emotional truth central.
Themes
Critic's Take
Robin Murray hears in Victoria Canal's debut Slowly, It Dawns a singer arriving into clarity, where the best songs - “California Sober” and “June Baby” - trade day-glo melody for torch song intimacy. He writes in a measured, admiring tone, noting how pop effervescence and probing introspection sit side by side, and how tracks like “Totally Fucking Fine” become immersive, soothing balms. The record is presented as a succinct, revealing statement, its hush and flourish most affecting on the closing “swan song” and piano-led “Black Swan”.
Key Points
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The best song(s) balance pop effervescence and intimate torch-song heart, exemplified by "California Sober" and "June Baby".
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The album's core strength is candid, tender songwriting that makes personal detail feel universal.
Themes
mu
Critic's Take
Victoria Canal delivers a debut that constantly shifts mood, and the best tracks on Slowly, It Dawns prove it: “June Baby” opens with surprising sunny warmth while “California Sober” and “Cake” parade Canal's flirtatious, hedonistic side. The record's second half pivots back to intimacy, with “Barely” emerging as a raw, striking highlight that carries the album's devastating power. Closing with “Black Swan” and “swan song” ties her past standouts into a poignant finale, making these songs feel like the clearest expressions of the album's emotional arc.
Key Points
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‘Barely’ is the album's emotional centerpiece because of its raw intimacy and striking vocal delivery.
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The album's core strength is its ability to balance sunny, pop-forward tracks with devastating, intimate songwriting.