''The Face'' is the second
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. of British
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...
duo
Disclosure
Disclosure may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Disclosure'' (The Gathering album), 2012
*Disclosure (band), a UK-based garage/electronic duo
* ''Disclosure'' (novel), 1994 novel written by Michael Crichton
** ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American ...
, 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
UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...
,
dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...
and
techno
Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
, features vocal contributions from
Sinéad Harnett
Sinéad Monica Harnett (born 12 October 1990) is an English singer/songwriter.
Career
Born to a Thai mother and an Irish father, Harnett grew up in Finchley, north London. She attended Arts University College Bournemouth, where she studied for ...
and
Ria Ritchie
Ria Ritchie ( ; born 23 September 1987) is an English singer-songwriter and recording artist. Signed to Takeover Entertainment in 2011, she released her debut single, entitled "Only One", in May 2012.
Life and career Early life
Ria Ritchie was ...
. 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
Little Dragon are a Swedish electronic music band from Gothenburg, Sweden, formed in 1996. The band consists of Yukimi Nagano (vocals, percussion), Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Wallin (bass) and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards).
Little Dragon' ...
. The EP is a big departure from their previous works in terms of musical style, its few
post-dubstep
Post-dubstep is an umbrella term applied to a range of musical styles that have been influenced by the sparse, syncopated rhythms and heavy sub-bass of the UK dubstep scene. The breadth of styles associated with the term post-dubstep precluded i ...
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
UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...
,
dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...
and
techno
Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
.
A ''
DIY
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...
'' 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
Little Dragon are a Swedish electronic music band from Gothenburg, Sweden, formed in 1996. The band consists of Yukimi Nagano (vocals, percussion), Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Wallin (bass) and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards).
Little Dragon' ...
.
''
XLR8R
''XLR8R'' (pronounced "accelerator") is a website that covers music, culture, style, and technology. It was originally also a print magazine.
History and profile
''XLR8R'' was founded as a newsprint zine in 1993 by publisher Andrew Smith in Sea ...
'' reviewer Glenn Jackson, noted that the EP's
post-dubstep
Post-dubstep is an umbrella term applied to a range of musical styles that have been influenced by the sparse, syncopated rhythms and heavy sub-bass of the UK dubstep scene. The breadth of styles associated with the term post-dubstep precluded i ...
elements were the only ones on the record to have also been included on the duo's earlier works.
"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
Future garage is a genre of electronic music that incorporates a variety of influences from UK garage and softer elements from 2-step garage, leading to an off-kilter rhythmic style. Characteristic sounds are pitched vocal chops, warm filtered ree ...
artists such as
Jacques Greene
Philippe Aubin-Dionne (born 1989), better known by the stage name Jacques Greene, is a Canadian electronic musician based in Toronto. He has released music on the LuckyMe and Night Slugs labels and co-owns Vase Records.
Greene released his de ...
, backing
alto vocals by
Sinéad Harnett
Sinéad Monica Harnett (born 12 October 1990) is an English singer/songwriter.
Career
Born to a Thai mother and an Irish father, Harnett grew up in Finchley, north London. She attended Arts University College Bournemouth, where she studied for ...
.
Big keyboard sounds, a
deep house bassline, percussion including finger snaps and hi-hats commonly found in early 1990s garage music then pop into the song, as well as
reverb
Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abs ...
effects on the vocals, before some bubbly synth textures "unravel" the song.
"What's In Your Head" contains chops of high-pitched voice samples, a "distorted-beyond-recognition orgasm sample," and "spacey" "sun-bleached" synthesizers.
The later part of the track consists of a harsh drum beat, stuttering vocal chops and "vamping" synth lines.
According to The 405's James West, the song includes
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...
elements similar to those in ''
Be Strong'', an album by duo
The 2 Bears
The 2 Bears are a British musical duo formed in 2009 composed of Joe Goddard (of electronic band Hot Chip) and Raf Rundell (previously of 1965 Records). The duo produces original material amalgamating various styles including 2-step, house a ...
.
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.
"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
Lewis Beadle, professionally known as El-B, is an English record producer, songwriter and DJ. He was an original member of the UK Garage duo Groove Chronicles, and is commonly seen as one of the pioneers of the dubstep
Dubstep is a genre o ...
and
M. J. Cole
Matthew James Firth Coleman, better known by his stage name MJ Cole, is an English garage DJ, record producer and remixer.
Career
Born in London, England, in his youth, Cole was classically trained on the oboe and piano, and won scholarships ...
, "fidgety" drums, and
staccato note singing from
Ria Ritchie
Ria Ritchie ( ; born 23 September 1987) is an English singer-songwriter and recording artist. Signed to Takeover Entertainment in 2011, she released her debut single, entitled "Only One", in May 2012.
Life and career Early life
Ria Ritchie was ...
.
The track starts flowing into a "widescreen reverb heavy fog" containing sustained and echo-filtered vocals before the instrumental turns
minimalist
In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post– World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...
again, a structure compared by Simon Edmunds of
contactmusic.com
Contactmusic.com is an online magazine of cultural criticism based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, and ...
to the "old loud/quiet/loud trick" that was prominent in many tracks by rock band
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
.
"Control" is the only cut on the release to have a
2-step drum rhythm, unlike the EP's three other tracks that are driven by
four-on-the-floor
Four-on-the-floor (or four-to-the-floor) is a rhythm pattern used primarily in dance genres such as disco and electronic dance music. It is a steady, uniformly accented beat in time in which the bass drum is hit on every beat (1, 2, 3, 4). ...
drum beats.
''The Face'' closes with the most playful cut on the EP, the balearic techno song "Lividup".
Including chopped voice samples similar to those of artists like XXXY and Hot City,
West analyzed the track's "upbeat euphoria is pasted over a backdrop of endless sunsets and bleary winkless nights."
Release and promotion
"Boiling" was released as ''The Face''
's only single on 13 April 2012. The extended play was released on 4 June 2012 worldwide, by the Greco-Roman label.
The remix EP features four re-cuts of songs from ''The Face'', one of them being a remix by
Hot Chip's Joe Goddard.
On 29 June 2012, ''
Noisey'' premiered the music video for "Control", directed by Ben Murray and Ross McDowell and produced by Drew O'Neill.
Pigeons & Planes
Complex Networks is an American media and entertainment company for youth culture, based in New York City. It was founded as a bi-monthly magazine, ''Complex'', by fashion designer Marc (Ecko) Milecofsky. Complex Networks reports on popular a ...
described the video as a "sort of stylish instructional video" in how to dance. The song was also played on
Zane Lowe
Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter.
After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
's Radio 1 show as the "Hottest Record in the World".
Critical reception
''The Face'' garnered generally positive reviews from
music journalist
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
s upon its release, later landing at number two and nine on the year-end lists of publications
Beats per Minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ...
and Pretty Much Amazing, respectively. Edmunds said that "releasing music of this quality at such an early age and so early into their career only makes one excited as to what the future holds for them", concluding his review that "''The Face'' acts as a reminder to other producers to stay at the top of their game, because the kids are coming up from behind".
Will Ryan, writing for
Beats per Minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ...
, called the record's four songs to be the 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".
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".
''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".
West wrote that ''The Face'' was on the same level as the works of
Jamie xx, Bobby Tank and
SBTRKT, making Disclosure "the country's most exciting new producers".
He also honored the EP for being one of the few releases to combine different styles together "cleverly".
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.
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".
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
Peter O'Grady, better known as Joy Orbison or Joy O, is an English electronic musician. His style is a coalescence of house, dubstep, UK funky, UK garage and oldschool jungle. O'Grady achieved underground success with his debut single "Hyph Mn ...
was hard to find on the EP.
Track listing and credits
All tracks written, mixed and produced by
Disclosure
Disclosure may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Disclosure'' (The Gathering album), 2012
*Disclosure (band), a UK-based garage/electronic duo
* ''Disclosure'' (novel), 1994 novel written by Michael Crichton
** ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American ...
and mastered by Miles Showell at
Metropolis Mastering in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Mastered for vinyl by Shane McEnhill at Finyl Tweek in London.
Additional writing credits are noted in the track list.
Release history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Face
2012 EPs
Disclosure (band) albums