[6] Critics stated that songs such as "Ready for the Floor" and "Bendable Poseable" were reminiscent of their previous release, The Warning.

[6] Recording took place in a variety of locations, including in-studio and live venues, to make "different acoustic spaces to be obvious to the listener".

The other three members of Hot Chip, Owen Clarke, Al Doyle, and Felix Martin would then "have some influence on the way the songs are put together.

"[14] Some equipment used to create the album remained the same as previous albums—Goddard used Steinberg Cubase SX3 on his laptop and Doyle and Martin worked on songs using Apple Logic in their studio.

[13] With "Bendable Poseable", Goddard recorded live percussion parts with a Shure Beta 57A mic going directly into Cubase and "fashioned them into a jittery, three-minute loop".

[14] At the London-based studio called the Strongroom, "One Pure Thought", "Hold On" and "Shake a Fist" were recorded live, instead of on multitrack, and were subsequently pieced together.

[4] In October 2007, MTV reported that Hot Chip was planning to give "Ready for the Floor" to Kylie Minogue.

[15] Other reports incorrectly suggested that Hot Chip had written Made in the Dark's second single, "Ready for the Floor" specifically for Minogue.

[4] Taylor appreciated Oldham for his minimalism of "just acoustic guitar and harmonium and voice for the whole record" and wanted Hot Chip to emulate him.

[4] The album contained maximalist and minimalist songs; several tracks on the album were influenced by rock and heavy metal music[citation needed], and the track "Wrestlers" started taking a new direction because the band was "wrestling with the idea of making an R. Kelly kind of slick R and B number" and ultimately "[sounded] more like Randy Newman's "Short People".

[14] Taylor stated Hot Chip "didn't set out to make something with one mood" and that he thought the band's style of "jump[ing] all over the place stylistically" made sense as a record.

After the initial experimentation, Wall wanted to create a cover that was "more brooding and conservative" and formed a list of ideas that the band had responded positively to.

The image was embossed on metallic copper card to give a "tactile feel" that would imply the album was "an object rather than illustration-based design.

[11] The album, according to Nielsen SoundScan data reported by Billboard, has sold 47,000 copies and has been certified Gold for UK sales.

Drowned in Sound commented that, "ballads remain a strong suit, particularly the easy grace of the title track, but more often than not sit awkwardly next to the more toothsome numbers and feel under-produced by comparison"[33] with similar comments from AllMusic who said, "Made in the Dark's main weakness might be its ballads, but that may just be in comparison to its many energetic moments, which are so addictive that it feels like a forced come-down whenever the band slows things down.

[8] Martin responded to the criticism made by Pitchfork: I think the fact that we've managed to be successful, in getting good chart positions in the U.K. and at the same time making a record that is actually quite weird and confusing to even a site like Pitchfork—the guy doesn't seem to actually get what we're trying to do—it's kind of cool to me.

"[34] Another element that caused mixed reception was the use of a Todd Rundgren sample in "Shake a Fist", which musicOMH called "delightful" but The Guardian described it as grating.

[31] In regards to lyrics, AllMusic said the album "boasts some of Hot Chip's most kinetic music, with rhythms and melodies that are just as hyper-articulate as the word play.

"[25] Rolling Stone summarised the album as having "catchy tunes, monster grooves, and lyrics resolving the heartfelt and the smartass".