Cleveland indie rockers Machine Go Boom are primarily a vehicle for the eclectic singer/songwriter Mikey Machine, who had started a solo career with a self-titled 2001 album before forming the band with lead guitarist Mike Uva, keyboardist Carrie Bukala, bassist Brian "Bubbles" O'Connor, and drummer Arran Biggart. The first Machine Go Boom album, Thank You Captain Obvious, was released by the Collectible Escalators label in 2004, featuring a quirky fusion of elements ranging from Pavement, Guided by Voices, and the Pixies to the anti-folk singer/songwriters and alt-country folks like Will Oldham's many guises. Following a shift in lead guitarists, with Uva replaced by Kevin Jaworski, Machine Go Boom released their second album, Music for Parents, in the spring of 2007. ~ Stewart Mason