Most dimly, Finnish indie collective Rubik's eclectic, airy pop-rock hybrid could be described as having tinges of Of Montreal in the sense that while sprawling, it's never aimless. But that would be a sloppy comparison. And anyone who gives the much-buzzed Dada Bandits a casual listen will find that although initially intimidating, the album's exciting amalgam of sounds begins to make sense, even if its as a glowing accent to a hipstery cocktail party wherein your Neitzsche-toting ex invariably broods in a corner.

There's also something peculiarly anachronistic about Dada Bandits. Frontman Artturi Taira explains it as the result of "making music with a more childlike approach." He elaborates, "When you're a kid, things are new to you. You're not sure what the world looks like. It had this kind of strange, scary side to it as well. We wanted to capture that, we were trying to approach a new angle to the music. Then of course it's in the title. That came together of the concept of people taking things out of their context, and reorganizing them in a way that they get their own intentions." Although Rubik plays Brooklyn's Union Hall tonight and Manhattan's Pianos tomorrow, Taira takes some time out to highlight 11 songs instrumental to his own creative process.

1. "Breaking Glass" by David Bowie This is such an amazing song. The way he plays with a typical song structure on that album Low Structurally, it's not a traditional song.

2. "Harvest" by Ennio Morricone Most of [Morricone]'s most known work has been for Clint Eastwood's Western films. But, he has scored a lot of orchestral songs too. This song is a cycle -- there's nothing much happening in it. Structurally, I like the way he uses harmonies. It's a very simple song, but if you take a closer look at it, it's well-written and so well-arranged. It's a book written on arranging songs. My friend got married not that long ago and a friend and I performed this song. We rearranged it and I love that about music, getting to know it and playing around with it.

3. "Neon Golden" by The Notwist Really one of the only recent German bands that everyone likes. They're one of those bands who can combine the electronic stuff with traditional sounds. Of course, they are masters and we are apprentices. When they played live in Helsinki not too long ago, it all made sense. They had a really complex set of samplers. It clicked and they really knew what they were doing.

4. "Ikuisuuden maailma" by Paavoharju This song by this Finnish folk band inspired me because it sums it all up. The electronics and the ambient landscapes and the other stuff they combine with it. I listened to their album a lot when we were writing Dada Bandits. I hope that at least someday we could accomplish something as beautiful as this song. It's not rock music but that doesn't matter to me, because it's great.

5. "Winter Killing" by Stina Nordenstam This is a record I usually tend to come back to during springtime. It's a dark album, lyrically. But at the same time, it's really comforting in a way that things that come together in a better way. It's very uplifting. I love the way she plays with words in the chorus -- it's so devastating.

6. "Black Swan" & "Idiot Heart" by Sunset Rubdown I had to pick them both -- they're a bit different. "Idiot Heart" isn't prog rock per se -- but it's poppy prog rock which we always kind of wanted to get into. It reminds me of old David Bowie records. I really love their last album as well. Especially these two songs. "Black Swan" has a hypnotic beat and melody. They're both very well-crated tunes.

7. "Marquee Moon" by Television Our first album was more guitar-oriented, but when talking about guitars and how to make sounds and arrangements, we wanted to have a couple of guitar songs on Dada Bandits as well. The guitar can be a melodic and percussive instrument at the same time. This song's guitar music at its best.

8. "Seneca" by Tortoise I picked this one up because it's really great instrumental rock music. I don't think vocals are important in rock music. It's a great example of how a rock song can be produced in a silent way, without any guys squealing on it and ruining it.

9. "I'm Waiting For The Man" by Beck I chose the cover [of the Velvet Underground original] because I've been listening to it lately. We could never do records like Beck's cover album. Of course the original is unbeatable. We're the kind of guys stuck in a studio for half a year. It'd be great if we made a record that was so spontaneous. The courage of doing that and putting it out -- I appreciate that. And we probably couldn't ever record an album that way. It's the opposite of what we're doing.

10. "Bull Black Nova" by Wilco That's one of those songs that when you hear it for the first time, you think, "What the hell." With everything that's going on -- this song is so hypnotic. They add little flavors to their music. I don't think there are that many bands that can actually do that. Add drums here and there, or guitars here and there. It's a great approach to making records--and arranging the songs. I love the albums they've made before. I had to pick this one because I don't think there are many bands that can sound so vulnerable and infinite at the same time. But not in a cock rock way, but in a cool rock & roll way. And moody. I think that's what I love about Wilco.