With one foot in the recent indie-pop past and the other in the club music of next week, Hot Chip [ tickets ] has stepped out as a key British dance act to watch. Literally.

The band's live gigs have completely blown away its albums thus far. Its goofy, home-recorded debut album, "Coming On Strong," tip-toed into electronics with Casio sounds and self-effacing mock raps. Quickly, the band outgrew it during live shows that overflowed with giddy, party energy and fine vocal layering and harmonies. Its next move, "The Warning," got rave reviews and included the underground club staple "Over and Over." On "Made in the Dark," the band embraces bigger, bolder sonics and the bouncing rhythms of hip-hop, off-kilter club music and kooky electro. The bass often throbs obnoxiously and the band still crams tongue-in-cheek raps in small spaces. Hot Chip sounds like it has soaked up the vibes of the new DJ culture. "Ready for the Floor" sounds like it has already been spliced and taped back together by expert mixers. And yet, it's easily the band's most fully realized album--which is altogether stunning considering at least three tunes were recorded live in one take on tour. Hot Chip's strengths aren't merely in beats and bytes. The band's songwriting, when it has room to squeeze through, is a serious affair. Its minimal pop has gotten more complex. "Floor" has melodies that roll along effortlessly, and "Wrestlers," which compares two lovers to struggling competitors, starts simply but its overlapping, cascading piano, bass, handclaps and back-ups make it work. Elsewhere, the electro-pop has a bit of blue-eyed soul. The title track, "Made in the Dark," a stripped-down, vaguely country-soul-tinged ballad, shows a different side of the Chip. But the album's biggest winners are funky synth-pop numbers like "Touch Too Much."