Tin Drum continued the band's now-established mix of electronic elements with traditional instrumentation, but leans far more towards Far Eastern influences than any of their previous albums.

[6] Musically, Tin Drum was a meticulously crafted blend of complex rhythms, keyboard textures, and Mick Karn's bass playing.

[1] Lyrically, the songs include notions of romance, melancholia, travel and escape, and particularly David Sylvian's fascination for Eastern culture, which at times ("Visions of China", "Cantonese Boy") have a satirical undercurrent.

[15] In 2000 Sylvian re-recorded "Ghosts", using the original Japan backing track, and this version was included on his compilation albums Everything and Nothing (2000) and A Victim of Stars 1982–2012 (2012).

Morley also praised the album as a "triumph" for David Sylvian in particular, "the sensitive individual, the deep feeling loner, his voice stricken on the tensions between confidence and gloom, whose lyrics are a questing expression of love and loss, doubt and despondency.

"[24] Record Mirror writer Suzie said that while she still found Sylvian's vocals "mannered and... far too close to Bryan Ferry for comfort", Tin Drum is "a very accomplished musical exercise.

"[23] However, Melody Maker's Lynne Barber was less impressed: "The music slots together in jigsaw fashion, leaving plenty of space and clean air... but there seems to be little purpose to their constructs, a dearth of aesthetic sensibility.

"[10] Joseph Burnett of The Quietus described Tin Drum in 2013 as "unique in pop history, a fearlessly ambitious, unusual and conceptual work of art that defies genre categorisation.

[10] Based on their admiration for the Japan album, the Cure and XTC hired Steve Nye to produce their 1983 releases "The Walk" and Mummer, respectively.

[29][30] Others who consider the album a favourite include Wild Beasts bassist Tom Fleming, who notes its influence on his band's work, particularly their later, synth-oriented material,[31] and author David Keenan.

[32] According to Stephin Merritt, "It features electric guitar sounds previously possible only for Adrian Belew; the bass is so fretless it sounds like a moaning sea mammal, the gorgeous drums are so tonal they could be marimbas, the Prophet 5 synthesizer sits quietly in the mix making squiggly noises; and sometimes a violin plays, in a manner previously heard only in Chinese opera.