2008 Houston Press Music Awards Showcase

Full Release (6 p.m.)
Nominated in: Best Cover Band
www.myspace.com/fullrelease

Though their readily available output runs toward Jay-Z & Linkin Park's "99 Problems/One Step Closer," Rage Against the Machine's "Bombtrack" and Kid Rock's "Bawitdaba" — there's a reason they list their favorite local venue as Scout Bar — all-covers quintet Full Release promises a diverse playlist that also includes Marvin Gaye, the Cure and "99 Luftballoons." Seriously. They also advise, "Full Release is not responsible if you decide to quit your job and take up playing bongos butt-ass naked in a park covered in buttermilk and sliced pickles." You've been warned... — C.G.

Free Radicals w/Harry Sheppard (7 p.m.)
Nominated in: Best Jazz

Free Radicals are kind of hard to define; three versions of the same band certainly doesn't help matters. Depending on when, where and how you listen, there may be as few as six or more than 50 musicians involved. Describing its music as "arrestable, permeable and snarky," the almost exclusively instrumental, largely improvisational collective freewheels through free jazz, funk and dub. Track them down at Notsuoh, "in front of Halliburton" or in full-blown salsa practice at Studewood Park Sunday afternoons. — N.L.H.

Hearts of Animals (8 p.m.)
Nominated in: Best New Act, Best Experimental
www.myspace.com/heartsofanimals

As Hearts of Animals, Mlee Suprean makes innovative music that meanders (with purpose) between abstract experimentation and fascinating pop-like melodies; fond of Tuaca and Rudyard's (or so she says), Suprean herself describes her sound as "sweet, fuzzy and melodic." Her self-titled 7" from earlier this year met with a rapturous local reception, and although Suprean's sound may indeed be sweet and fuzzy, her willingness to raise the bar and take chances is what keeps audiences craving more. — B.B.Z.

Sharks and Sailors (9 p.m.)
Nominated in: Best Bassist (Melissa Lonchambon), Best Indie Rock
www.myspace.com/sharksandsailors

Louisville in the early '90s ain't got nothin' on 21st-century Houston, at least not as long as Sharks and Sailors are pumping out their distinctive version of that herky-jerky math-rock thing, falling somewhere between Slint's plodding intimidation and Mission of Burma's stabbing intrusiveness. Tempering their oft-jarring music, though, is a sense of whimsy that spurs the trio's desire to book shows in "Imaginationland," enjoy a fine cocktail at "Sparkle Burger" and build their dream home out on "Chodeburglar Avenue." Back in the real world, debut LP Builds Brand New is due next month. — N.L.H.

L.L. Cooper (4 p.m.)
Nominated in: Best Songwriter, Best Roots Rock
www.myspace.com/llcooper

L.L. Cooper namesake Larry Cooper's guitar case has a sticker that says "Houston: We Hate It Here, We Never Want to Leave." Why should he? After years of backing up local singer-songwriter chanteuse Lisa Novak, Cooper stepped up front and, on last year's Old Hardin Store Road, proved his Best Songwriter nomination is no joke. His soulful, semi-psychedelic roots-rock (Stones, Son Volt, Neil Young) is set to return in December on follow-up LP Tucson. — C.G.

80 Proof (5 p.m.)
Nominated in: Best Cover Band
www.myspace.com/80proofrocksyou

You never know what happens when you get on Craigslist. You might hook up for one of those infamous "casual encounters," or you might wind up in an '80s cover band that owns the Lounge on Montrose Saturday night, and the rest of the week can be found anywhere from Pearland to Katy. At least as far as we know, that's what happened to these five guys and one girl when they came together last year, and have been growing their song list ever since. Could this be the year Molly & the Ringwalds finally goes down? — C.G.

Lee Alexander (6 p.m.)
Nominated in: Best Local Song ("Mr. Walker's Epilogue"), Best Neo-Folk
www.myspace.com/alexanderlee

Lee Alexander's eponymous quintet proves there's a place for polished, Elliot Smith-style pop songwriting in the ranks of the often rough-and-tumble Houston music scene. Best Local Song nominee "Mr. Walker's Epilogue" is a sugary appetizer for this summer's Mayhaw Vaudeville CD, which Alexander describes as "almost entirely acoustic and saturated with a distinctively rustic Texas flavor by drawing on the grass-roots forms of ragtime jazz, country swing, blues and folk music that dominated the Southern music scene in the '20s and '30s." — C.G.

Black Math Experiment (7 p.m.)
Nominated in: Best Local Album (All You Need Is Blood), Best Local Song ("Everyone Is Gay"), Best Unclassifiable Band
www.myspace.com/theblackmath­experiment

For a band that professes to be broken up — okay, on "indefinite hiatus," because bands never really break up for good anymore — multiple nominees Black Math Experiment could cart home a lot of HPMA hardware this year. That helps ease the sting somewhat, because a scene without BME's Devo-esque puckishness and Cure-sharpened hooks is going to be a lot less fun. So until the inevitable reunion show (this one doesn't really count), at least the quintet has left us with a wealth of material to remember them by, of which Best Local Album nominee All You Need Is Blood (actually an EP) and a forthcoming live DVD are just the latest, and surely not the last. — C.G.