In Outer Space

Sparks’s follow up to Angst In My Pants was almost a return to the No. 1 in Heaven days thanks to the near total electronic arrangements throughout, though with a focus now removed from disco and firmly placed in New Wave and synth-pop. In Outer Space gave the band its only Top 40 single, the Jane Wiedlin-guesting “Cool Places,” but any number of deep cuts and long-time favorites also made a mark, going from the knowingly breezy depiction of a clearly horrible couple in “Popularity” to the much more immediately relatable “I Wish I Looked a Little Better.”