The Face (EP)

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The Face
The text on the top that displays the duo name, the text on the bottom showing the name of the EP, and a face with white outlines of the lips, eyes and nose, all colored with a glassy, glitched texture
EP by
Disclosure
Released4 June 2012
Genre
Length20:16
LabelGreco-Roman
ProducerDisclosure
Disclosure chronology
Carnival
(2011) 		The Face
(2012) 		Control
(2013)
Singles from The Face
  1. "Boiling"
    Released: 13 April 2012

The Face is the second extended play of British electronic music duo Disclosure, consisting of Guy and Howard Lawrence. It was released on 4 June 2012, by the Greco-Roman label, its remix EP, which features a re-cut of "Control" by Hot Chip's Joe Goddard, distributed in September 2012. The four-track record, which contains musical styles of balearic beat, UK garage, dubstep and techno, features vocal contributions from Sinéad Harnett and Ria Ritchie. It was described by one reviewer as more a "youthful" release of a dubstep and techno scene consisting of artists like James Blake and Little Dragon. The EP is a big departure from their previous works in terms of musical style, its few post-dubstep elements to be the only ones that were also present on their past releases. Promoted one single, "Boiling", and one music video for "Control", The Face garnered critical acclaim, major praises being towards the quality of the EP's musical style and song structures.

Composition

The Face fuses the styles of balearic beat, UK garage, dubstep and techno.[1][2] A DIY magazine critic, described The Face as a more "youthful" part of a dubstep and techno scene consisting of acts like James Blake and Little Dragon.[2] XLR8R reviewer Glenn Jackson, noted that the EP's post-dubstep elements were the only ones on the record to have also been included on the duo's earlier works.[3]

"Boiling", which starts The Face, opens with a

reverb effects on the vocals, before some bubbly synth textures "unravel" the song.[1][5] "What's In Your Head" contains chops of high-pitched voice samples, a "distorted-beyond-recognition orgasm sample," and "spacey" "sun-bleached" synthesizers.[4][6] The later part of the track consists of a harsh drum beat, stuttering vocal chops and "vamping" synth lines.[4] According to The 405's James West, the song includes pop music elements similar to those in Be Strong, an album by duo The 2 Bears.[1] Writing for Resident Advisor, Phillip Sherburne described the song's vocal snippets as cleaner versions of those found in the 1997 track "Fly Life" by Basement Jaxx.[5]

"Control", with its main instrumental element identical to that of the beginning of "What's in Your Head", contains an "ethereal" arrangement of restrained synth sounds, bass drops mostly associated with those in tracks by

four-on-the-floor drum beats.[3] The Face closes with the most playful cut on the EP, the balearic techno song "Lividup".[1][2] Including chopped voice samples similar to those of artists like XXXY and Hot City,[5][6] West analyzed the track's "upbeat euphoria is pasted over a backdrop of endless sunsets and bleary winkless nights."[1]

Release and promotion

"Boiling" was released as The Face's only single on 13 April 2012.

Pigeons & Planes described the video as a "sort of stylish instructional video" in how to dance.[11] The song was also played on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show as the "Hottest Record in the World".[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The 4058/10
Beats per Minute
83%[4]
DIY8/10[2]
Drowned in Sound4/10[12]
Resident Advisor4/5[5]
XLR8R8/10[3]

The Face garnered generally positive reviews from

Beats per Minute, called the record's four songs to be some of the best club tracks of all time, labeling it a "complete statement that overloads all possible cylinders, as vital as the ages of the producers behind it might suggest, delivered by a duo whose rise can only just qualify as meteoric".[4] Sherburne, when interviewing Disclosure for Spin magazine, honored the EP as the duo's "best and most varied" release, noting its production to be "yielding a high-end that’s filigreed with crystal and compression so pneumatic that it seems to suck the air from your lungs".[15]

DIY magazine highlighted the "effortless" aspect in how Disclosure made the tracks, stating that "there is a coherence that flows throughout without becoming stagnant which personifies the understanding the Lawrence brothers have not only for their desired results but for each other".

SBTRKT, making Disclosure "the country's most exciting new producers".[1] He also honored the EP for being one of the few releases to combine different styles together "cleverly".[1] Jackson also compared The Face to SBTRKT's material, given that the record successfully works for both a club environment and a mainstream pop audience.[3] However, his major criticisms were that all the tracks were too similar to each other, a problem further hurt by the EP's longer-than-20-minute runtime, and the vocal features were "underwhelming".[3] One negative review from a Drowned in Sound critic called The Face a "disappointing miscalculation of overegged trends with little real personality of its own" that could only be enjoyed in a club setting, writing that the same "soulfulness" that was a major part of music by Joy Orbison was hard to find on the EP.[12]

Track listing and credits

All tracks written, mixed and produced by Disclosure and mastered by Miles Showell at Metropolis Mastering in London. Mastered for vinyl by Shane McEnhill at Finyl Tweek in London.[16] Additional writing credits are noted in the track list.[16]

The Face – Standard version[8][16]
No.TitleAdditional writer(s)Length
1."Boiling" (featuring Sinéad Harnett)Sinéad Harnett3:48
2."What's In Your Head"Harnett5:32
3."Control" (featuring Ria Ritchie)Ria Ritchie4:49
4."Lividup" 6:07
Total length:20:16
The Face – Remixes EP[9]
No.TitleLength
1."Boiling" (Dixon remix featuring Sinéad Harnett)9:34
2."What's In Your Head" (Mak & Pasteman remix)6:37
3."Control" (Joe Goddard remix featuring Ria Ritchie)4:45
4."Boiling" (Medlar remix featuring Sinéad Harnett)5:53
Total length:26:49

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label
Worldwide 4 June 2012[8] Digital download Greco-Roman
United Kingdom 9 July 2012[16] Vinyl
September 2012[9] Vinyl – Remixes EP

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i West, James (7 June 2012). "Disclosure – The Face [EP]". The 405. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e Blake, Jimmy (13 June 2012). "Disclosure – The Face". DIY. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e Jackson, Glenn (11 June 2012). "Disclosure The Face EP". XLR8R. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  4. ^
    Beats per Minute
    . Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d Sherburne, Phillip (11 June 2012). "Disclosure – The Face on Greco-Roman (Single)". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e Edmunds, Simon (12 June 2012). "Review of The Face EP by Disclosure". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  7. Pitchfork Media
    . Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  8. ^ a b c "The Face EP – GREC024V". Greco-Roman Official Website. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  9. ^ a b c The Face – Remixes EP (2012). Disclosure. Greco-Roman. GREC024RV.
  10. ^
    Noisey. Vice Media
    . 29 June 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  11. Pigeons & Planes
    . Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  12. ^ a b Scott-Delany, Finn (14 June 2012). "Ep Review: Disclosure – The Face" Archived 2019-01-27 at the Wayback Machine. Drowned in Sound. Silentway. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  13. ^ "The Top EPs of 2012". Beats per Minute. 10 December 2012. p. 2. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  14. ^ "PMA's Best Mixtapes & EPs of 2012". Pretty Much Amazing. 14 December 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  15. SpinMedia
    . Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  16. ^ a b c d The Face (2012). Disclosure. Greco-Roman. GREC024V.
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