Made in the Dark by Hot Chip

Made in the Dark, Hot Chip's third album, came out on 4 February 2008 on EMI, with Astralwerks and DFA handling it in the US, and it's the London synth-pop crew going soft in the best possible way. What started as Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard's bedroom project is a five-piece now, with Al Doyle, Owen Clarke and Felix Martin, and across its 13 tracks the big surprise is the ballads. Taylor, who wrote most of the words, said the love and happiness in his life, his recent marriage included, bled into the record's romantic mood.

The dance floor isn't abandoned, though. "Ready for the Floor" is all nervy, bleeping electro-pop that picks up where The Warning left off; it reached number six in the UK and got a Grammy nod for Best Dance Recording. The album itself climbed to number four at home, and "Shake a Fist" and "One Pure Thought" followed it out as singles.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.