Tegan and Sara / Photo by Pamela Littky

The wait is over -- almost. While Tegan and Sara's sixth album, Sainthood, which was among our picks for this season's most important albums, won't be available for purchase until Oct. 27, it's streaming in its entirety via the twins' MySpace page right now.

The album is excellent -- it garnered a four-star review in SPIN's November issue, which streets today -- and was inspired by Leonard Cohen's 1979 ballad, "Came So Far for Beauty," according to the Quin sisters. Some tracks are imbued with a newfound post-punk muscularity, and, as was the case on some of their earlier efforts, the lyrical content deftly explores romantic obsession and longing, albeit with a much more grown-up stance.

Four shows in the coming week -- two in LA and two in NYC -- will bookend the album's release, followed by tour dates in Europe through the end of 2009 and a lengthy tour of their home country of Canada in January. Their U.S. tour launches Feb. 12 in Massachusetts and wraps in early April in Oregon. According to a recent Twitter post from Sara, the setlist will feature "'hits' and much of the new album," and she offered a suggestion for ticket holders: "Bring snacks and water to the show. LONG night."

To hear the album and see Tegan and Sara's full touring agenda, visit their MySpace page.