With our favorite band not residing in United States, we can some times get side tracked and forget that one of the greatest bands today is still out there, making people dance. If you don’t know Hot Chip, you should. They have developed a unique sound that combines their love for electronic music with their love of funk, hip hop and pop. So this isn’t just some knob twiddlers and computer geeks (although I wouldn’t be surprised if they were the first to admit they are geeks, but lovable ones), they know their way around the guitar, piano and most importantly, the drums.

Their music can be at times soft and hypnotic and other times, funky and dancey. Either way, they pump out some of the best music you’ll hear today and put on one of the greatest live performances.

So what have they been doing since releasing the Mercury Award nominee, The Warning? Besides DJ’ing and playing at various festivals (just announced they’ll be headling the ATP vs. Pitchfork Festival in May 2008), they’ve been working on a new album called Made in the Dark. This has inspired us to keep tabs of the most anticipated albums of 2008 and this guy just topped the list.

Sources tell us the new album captures the raw and tougher sound of Hot Chip as we experience them live. In fact, some of the tracks were recorded live and with one take – “Hold On” and “Out at the Pictures”. This tough sound can also be heard on the Todd Rundgren featured track, “Shake A Fist” (curiously called Shake a Tease on myspace), which was released on a limited edition 12″ ( it will also appear on the new album). Listen to “Shake A Fist / Tease” on their myspace page.

There are several ballads and the appreciation for soul is apparently front and center. But you can’t have a Hot Chip album without some beat nastiness and that is present here with songs like “Ready For The Floor” (scheduled to be the first single) and “One Pure Thought”.

The album is due out on DFA / Astralwerks on Feb. 4th. Let the countdown begin.

Read the Pitchfork interview with Hot Chip frontman, Alexis Taylor.

On a non-album related note, you can download a free Hot Chip MP3 from their website for simply signing up for their newsletter. The song is called “I Became A Volunteer” and will not be on the new album. Click here to Sign Up.