Mike Merenda and Ruthy Ungar’s first album as the folk duo Mike and Ruthy, The Honeymoon Agenda, was produced and recorded as a wedding present by a close friend shortly after the couple tied the knot. Both musicians – who will play at the Roost House in Carmel Valley on Sunday with the space-folk outfit The Shalants – had played together for several years in other bands, but never as the intimate twosome.

“We thought it was a cool idea to have a Mike and Ruthy album,” Merenda says. “We had other side projects at the time and had no idea that the Mike and Ruthy thing was going to be our next step, career-wise.”

The 12-track debut is a mix of originals and assorted love-themed covers like the Velvet Underground’s “I’ll Be Your Mirror” and Tom Waits’ “Long Way Home.”

The duo’s latest release, Million to One, also has a grassroots backstory: The album was almost entirely funded by fans donating money online.

“We set our goal and it was unbelievable how quickly it was met,” Ungar says.

Their previous two albums were released only on a local level and sold at shows, but for Million to One, they wanted to reach a bigger audience, which meant they needed bigger bucks for production. So far, the online investments have been met with payoffs in the press: AllMusic.com likened songs on the album to the “Rolling Stones on one of their country side trips.”

But tunes like the bookend “Summer Sun” show us that these two musicians are able to slow down and remember to enjoy the simple pleasures of life (like summer). On it Ungar’s voice meanders with an infectious and breathy intensity as she reminds herself, “I only had to look inside to find serenity.”

Each track on the album is its own unique sculpture; sometimes sounding like Dylan’s Highway 61, other times moving in the jazzy direction of Nina Simone. The one constant fabric woven through all of the songs is the poetically accessible lyrics.

“I think our music tries to be a little bit of an oasis in the middle of technology,” Ungar says.

“We just write about our lives as the years go by,” adds Merenda.

A recenter chapter in Merenda and Ungar’s lives is their 2-year-old son Will.The two East coasters – who live in a small town just outside of Woodstock, N.Y. – both admit that life has changed drastically since Will was born. He tours with them, usually armed with one backpack full of trains and another stuffed with favorite toys.

“He misses home and wants to go home from time to time, but don’t we all?” asks Ungar.

If her ability to empathize with her son sounds familiar, that’s probably because it echoes the sincerity of her music. There isn’t any gimmicky Sonny and Cher business going on with these guys. The music feels as real as their matrimonial union and their love for their kid.

“At this point, we’re focused on being true to our music and ourselves and our audience,” Ungar says. “We’re a genuine act. We do what we do and we’re always trying to reach more people.”

MIKE AND RUTHY AND THE SHALANTS play 4pm and 8pm Sunday, Nov. 21, at the Roost House. For directions, visit www.roosthouse.com. $10-$20 suggested donation. RSVP to roosthouse@gmail.com.