Up Stream: Hear New Albums From Said the Whale and San Fermin

There's a lot to sift through in music this week– Arcade Fire's "Reflektor" sort of fell on us this weekend, and folks seem to be pleasantly surprised that the new MGMT album isn't crap.

That's all well and good, but there are two album streams out today that I'd like to direct you toward lest they escape your attention.

Said the Whale :  hawaiii - Hailing from Vancouver, BC, Said the Whale makes a brand of addictive, youthful, summery indie pop. Blog regulars might remember "Camilo (The Magician)" from TMI's last Mixtape Philosophy entry. Their new album hawaiii is streaming courtesy of Nylon Magazine. It's great fun. In interviews the band said they worried less this time around about making sure every song perfectly fit together, so the result on hawaiii is a collection of very strong individual songs... and it makes for a strong record. You can pick up the album in real life September 17 via Hidden Pony.

San Fermin : San Fermin - If you wish The National had fewer Y chromosomes, you'll probably dig San Fermin, the project of singer songwriter Ellis Ludwig-Leone. It's a chamber-pop record whose lead vocal duties are split among three singers, including Allen Tate, who sounds a lot like our man Matt Berninger, and Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessing from Lucius. San Fermin has some really nice, nuanced moments, as well as big emotional bursts. And if you like what you hear now (via NPR Music), you can also catch it September 17 via Downtown Records.