The back cover of the US version, however, only shows the first column of four snapshots, with the track index list occupying the rest of the space – a rare deviation for Columbia's CD issues during the 1980s.

In their review, Billboard noted that "the Californian quartet's spare '60s influenced pop/rock gets a facelift from producer Kahne, who shepherds the band's shift toward a more emphatic pop sensibility by focusing on a lusher, more layered vocal sound.

Points scored for material, too, with savvy cover choices including Jules Shear's "If She Knew What She Wants," Alex Chilton's "September Gurls" and the first single, "Manic Monday."

"[22] Rolling Stone critic Laura Fissinger wrote that Different Light finds the Bangles "using less hook-happy song structure and more modernized production" than on their 1984 debut All Over the Place, "covering their roots without burying them ten feet under.

"[23] She disagreed with objections to the more "deliberate, sophisticated and airwaves ready" nature of the production and felt that the album "puts then and now in significantly better balance", while also finding that the band had advanced "past the fan-apes-idol phase" in their musicianship.