From _Coming on Strong_ through _The Warning_ and now on to _Made in the Dark_, London's Hot Chip have made a rather quick shift from mellow, occasionally dreary R&B-inspired electronica to catchy dance music that deftly re-engineers funk and disco.
Having completed most of their journey from the bedroom to the dance floor, _Made in the Dark_ now finds the group roughly halfway between the Junior Boys' amorous electro-pop and the cheekily verbose dance-punk of LCD Soundsystem.
As on _The Warning_, Hot Chip kicks off their latest album with their dance-pop foot forward. Out at the Pictures"" builds its long instrumental intro from a set of droning synthesizers to a nervous, rhythmically irregular beat and finally into arm-pumping mode.
""Shake a Fist"" follows up with an overpowering, almost claustrophobic bass beat that establishes a muscular groove similar to _The Warning_'s hit single, ""Over and Over"" before the group's quirky side makes an unwelcome interruption in the form of a momentum-killing spoken-word break.
Although Made in the Dark is frontloaded with dance-pop, it's clear that Hot Chip haven't abandoned their down-tempo roots, particularly on the second half of the album. ""We're Looking For a Lot of Love"" returns to the electro-soul of _Coming on Strong_, but the lush production and unabashedly radio-friendly vocal hook mark just how far the band have come from their comparatively flat early tries at r&b.
It is possible for the band to drift too far from their comfort zone, however, turning out a couple of forgettable piano ballads - ""Whistle for Will"" and ""In the Privacy of Our Love"" - to close out the album on an uncharacteristically saccharine note.
For songwriters/vocalists Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard, wistful romanticism and tongue-in-cheek wit have always seemed equally natural - demonstrated respectively by the group's biggest hits ""And I Was a Boy from School"" and ""Over and Over."" Synthesizing these two approaches is a feat Taylor and Goddard have best accomplished on _Made in the Dark_. Album highlight and lead-off single ""Ready for the Floor"" tackles both with a campy Euro-disco verse that segues seamlessly into a chorus that rides on the group's sunniest hook to date.
""One Pure Thought"" similarly undercuts their taste for danceable melancholy by awkwardly telegraphing the stream-of-consciousness lyrics (""Although the Macarena has entirely been / I believe you will appreciate the rest of this dream"") and makes a case for the band as a more lyrically astute relative of New Order.
Where _Made in the Dark_ succeeds in making several convincing stabs at reconciling both Hot Chip's dance and soul tendencies and their humor and heartache, the album still suffers, just as _The Warning_ did, from the significant distance between its highs and lows. This makes the disc an unlikely pick for repeated listen throughs, but with more than its share of single-ready material, _Made in the Dark_ should be a commanding presence on mixtapes and playlists.
