Rock/pop

Baggage is a sticking point in many new relationships, but it's the glue on The Fence Bells' self-titled debut. Singer-guitarists Laurie Jaye Pickard and Jeremy Joyce met just last year at The Fire's open-mic night, and their Brian McTear-produced EP sounds like a tentative couple swapping stories of lost (and found) love. Pickard takes charge on most of them — three originals, plus a faithful version of "Wayfaring Stranger" — but Joyce's "Washington, Virginia" pairs their voices for the disc's most moving passage. For their CD release show, they'll share the bill with Charlie Faye — Pickard's previous duet partner — who contributes a couple of warm harmonies. If Joyce and Pickard can sustain the kind of subtle intimacy that Faye adds to "Nothing That Remains," they should soon progress to the next level.

Fri., Oct. 21, 9 p.m., $7, with Charlie Faye and The Philadelphia Bluegrass Band, The Manhattan Room, 15 W. Girard Ave., 215-739-5577, www.themanhattanroom.com.