The Face of Love was generally well received by music critics, who praised its lyrical maturity and vocal performance of lead singer Matt Hammit.

Before recording their third major studio album, the members of Sanctus Real faced several personal struggles including family deaths.

Producer Christopher Stevens encouraged them to write honest songs about the pain that they had experienced, and was credited by the band members as "walking with them through their dark night of the soul experience".

"[4] Stevens began playing over the chords to "I'm Not Alright", initially titled as "I'll Be Fine", and at that point the band decided to rework the song's lyrical theme.

[6] Allmusic's review noted, "If you swirled together Switchfoot's The Beautiful Letdown, Jars of Clay's Good Monsters and U2's How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, the concoction would sound much like this.

On April 23, 2006, the band launched The Face of Love Tour in promotion of the album; it travelled through the southeast and midwest of the United States, featuring Needtobreathe and This Beautiful Republic as guest artists.

[6] The title track "The Face of Love" received individual accolade, as well: Jesus Freak Hideout main editor John DiBiase called it "probably the band's best [song] to date",[11] while Christianity Today said that it was a "beautiful illustration".

Though it all sounds great, there's ultimately something a little lacking ... [W]hile there is indeed growth here, it doesn't necessarily make The Face of Love a step forward in excellence compared to the band's two previous efforts.