[3] "Boiling", which starts The Face, opens with a R&B-infused landscape of "bruised color" synths, which are mostly associated with the works of future garage artists such as Jacques Greene, backing alto vocals by Sinéad Harnett.

[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 El-B and M. J. Cole, "fidgety" drums, and staccato note singing from Ria Ritchie.

[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.

[10] The Face garnered generally positive reviews from music journalists upon its release, later landing at number two and nine on the year-end lists of publications Beats per Minute and Pretty Much Amazing, respectively.

[6] Will Ryan, writing for 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".

[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.