All its songs are Brokaw's compositions, with the exception of a cover of Drink the Poetry of the Celtic Disciple, written and originally performed by French black metal band Vlad Tepes.

"[1] In his review of the album for Prefix Magazine, Nick Neyland states that "Canaris fills a satisfying gap that falls somewhere in-between the comatose blackout of Sunn O))) and the genteel psychedelic folk of Keith Wood's Hush Arbors",[2] going on to suggest that "deep in the heart of Canaris is the title track, a heroic slab of treated drone rock that sounds like Brokaw has been inhaled by a colossal black hole and is performing as all the atoms in his body slowly separate.

"[2] Blurt magazine's review of the album described it as "a brief but wonderful exploration of the acoustic and electric, blues-traditional and experimental byways [Brokaw] and his guitar have traveled.

"[4] The review declares the album's title track to be "[t]he disc's centerpiece",[4] in which "Brokaw does battle with tone and dissonance and murky dreamlike atmospherics.

"[4] Whilst Nate Knaebel, in his review for Dusted Magazine, acknowledges that Canaris "does shine a light on [Brokaw's] undeniable skills",[3] he goes on to states that "[t]racks such as album opener 'Exemptive' and 'Watching the Clouds' aren't going to blow any minds.