rock/pop

Twenty-three's an awkward age. Half of your friends are still in school and half are setting up a family. Compare yourself to any of them, and you'll come up short. There are so many ways to get it wrong, and everyone's too preoccupied with their own exciting lives to support your sorry ass. From the sound of Twentythree (Virgin), singer-guitarist Tristan Prettyman's doing it right. Maybe she's got a friend with a drug problem ("Song for the Rich"); maybe she's got another who can't get a boyfriend and can't shut up about it ("Love Love Love"). Prettyman's own life seems as charmed as you'd expect from a part-time model with a rock-star boyfriend. (Her man, Jason Mraz, shows up to flirt on "Shy That Way.") Not everything's perfect: Sometimes a girl likes her best friend more than he likes her ("Always Feel This Way," "Electric"), though usually it's just that he denies his feelings ("Melting"), doesn't want to take chances ("The Story") or hasn't figured out how to deal with shit ("Breathe"). But it's nothing that can't be fixed with a sweet voice, an acoustic guitar and some tasteful support.

Thu., Feb. 16, 8:30 p.m., $16, with Ben Taylor, Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St., 215-928-0770, www.tinangel.com.