 "Sparkle in the Rain" is a generally rock-oriented album, a departure from the new wave aesthetic of its critically acclaimed predecessor "New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)".Kerr, before its release, described the forthcoming "Sparkle in the Rain" as an "art record—art without tears with masses of muscle".The band's new drummer Mel Gaynor, who had contributed for some tracks on the previous record, agreed on the album's aggressiveness