Bringing it Back: U2

This post is from our friend Samantha Feld, Director of Music Programming for Filter Magazine.

Today’s feature does not feature the next buzz band that you need to know; today’s post highlights an epic song performed live to create eerie magic. That song? U2 “With Or Without You”; Bono’s singing while laying on the stage and the vibe created by this song is something everyone can relate to. This song will forever go down as one of the greatest songs ever written and you can still feel it’s magic every time it’s performed, especially live.

Take a moment, and enjoy

Samantha Yanks' AE beach essentials

Samantha Yanks, Editor in Chief, Gotham and Hamptons magazines has picked her favorite AE looks for a perfect day at the beach. So if you need to work on your tan, pick up Samantha's suggested items and hit the beach!

Floral Embroidered Boho Top

AE Exposed Button Hi-Waisted Shortie

Cutout Sandals

Embroidered Triangle Top and Keyhole Beaded Bikini Bottom

Flap Bag

Video Wednesday: Mates of State

Influential Connecticut-based modern pop duo Mates of State have announced their first string of U.S. tour dates. Starting on September 21, the band will tour the East Coast, kicking off at D.C.’s 9:30 Club and playing through October 12 where they will visit New York City’s Webster Hall. The tour is in support of the band’s newest record, Mountaintops, which was recently finished and will be released on September 13th via Barsuk Records.

Mountaintops is the band’s full-length follow up to 2008’s critically acclaimed Re-Arrange Us. The self-produced album was written and recorded over the last year and a half in 6 different studios with multiple different engineers.

The band also released the first music video for a song from the new album, the ceaselessly catchy “Maracas. The video, patterned after The Old Grey Whistle Test, the seminal British music television show from the 70’s and 80’s, features the band playing the song in a seemingly live setting, with the bare-bones performance giving the band room to showcase the song’s boundless energy, and letting the audience see just how much fun Mates of State have with their music. And, yes, the maracas instrument is certainly featured in the song .

September:

9/21 - Washington DC - 930 Club # *
9/22 - Cincinnati, OH - Mid Point Music Festival # *
9/23 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls # *
9/24 - Philadelphia, PA - Popped Festival # *
9/26 - Boston, MA – Royale # *
9/27 – Montreal, QB – Il Motore # *
9/28 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix # *
9/29 – Detroit, MI - St. Andrews # *
9/30 – Chicago, IL – Metro # *

October:

10/01 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall % *
10/03 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel % *
10/04 - Nashville, TN - Exit/In % *
10/05 - Charlotte, NC - Visulite Theatre % *
10/06 - Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn % *
10/07 - Orlando, FL - The Social % *
10/08 - Sunrise, FL - Langerado Festival % *
10/10 - Richmond, VA - Canal Club % *
10/11 - Baltimore, MD – Ottobar % *
10/12 - New York, NY - Webster Hall %

# w/ Suckers
% w/ Other Lives
* w/ Yawn

We the People: U.S. Royalty for American Eagle

U.S. Royalty is a Washington DC based band. Brothers John & Paul Thornley sing and play guitar respectively; Jacob Michael plays bass, and Luke Adams drums. Their EP "Midsommar" was released in August, 2009. "Mirrors," their self-released album from 2011, was recorded after a year and a half of traveling. This travel vibe makes their album perfect for your summer road trip. Recently, they were on location in Nashville at an AE photo shoot, so we were able to shoot the following video of their Washington Irving inspired anthem, "Equestrian."

 

What's new on AE.com?

Check out AE.com and you may notice a few things have changed. We've adjusted elements of our site to make the shopping experience more user friendly.


Bag bar

• The bag bar will be fixed to the bottom of all customers’ browser windows, so their bag items are easily viewable/accessible throughout the shopping experience.
• Customers can edit/remove items from the bag bar and move an item to their wishlist from the bag bar.
• Discounts can be applied in the bag bar.
• Customers can add items to bag without losing their place in the category page.

Navigation & search

• Navigation is now on the left side and has more sorting options.
• New filter menus on category pages allow customers to filter by features and size.
• Sort options updated to include: price high-to-low & low-to-high, as well as top rated.
• Search has been enhanced to break out results into men’s and women’s. 

Try it out: On our tanks and camis page you can sort by "web exclusive"or "new arrivals" as well as by size, price, and rating.

Looking at products

• Customers can now change the view of their category pages from the default of 4 products across to 3 or 6 across.
• Product reviews (star ratings) are now on category page.
• Interactive color swatches are on category pages.
• More zoom interaction options on product pages.
• "View larger" option allows for maximum detail visibility. 

Try it out: It's easier than ever to see all the different colors of our men's boxers. Click on one of the color swatches to see the product in a different color without even leaving the page.

Take a look at the new AE.com and let us know in a comment below what you think. If you have any questions, we're happy to answer them here, or you can tweet them @american_eagle.

Handsome Furs’ Sound Kaptial is out TODAY

Sound Kapital is the third full-length from Handsome Furs, the Canadian two-piece of husband and wife Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry. It's also the first Handsome Furs album written exclusively on keyboards. This was a conscious decision. Here in 2011, the suggestion that electronic music is cold, alien or unfeeling, somehow detached from the human experience, is as lingering as it is outdated. Handsome Furs don't just shrug off this myth on Sound Kapital, they reject it with every fiber of their shared being. On this new album they use keyboards and drum machines to forge life-affirming anthems taut with muscle and blood. These nine songs of innocence and experience occasionally look ahead to a better world in the not-so-distant future, but Handsome Furs know what time it is: Now. They are fully engaged in the moment and their surroundings, wherever that may be.

Sound Kapital was recorded quickly, polished and rehearsed in the Furs' derelict Montreal studio, then preserved for posterity by longtime producers Howard Bilerman and Arlen Thompson at Hotel2Tango, mixed by Finnish dudes Antti Joas and Jonas Verwijnen at Kaiku Studios in Helsinki and Berlin, and mastered by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering in Montreal.

Cold, alien and unfeeling? Hardly. Sound Kapital is hot, noisy, over-stimulated… and ready to take on the world.

Check out Handsome Furs out on MySpace.

AE in the News

Check out the latest outlets to feature AE:

Our utility mini shorts are featured on Elle.com

Fashion blogger Annabel Ly was seen in an open back dress from aerie.

Julianne Hough from Dancing with the Stars was spotted by Style Bakery in our distressed denim shorts.

MP3 Monday: NewVillager

NewVillager is a band and art collective from San Francisco and New York. The two founding members, Ben Bromley and Ross Simonini make new pop music as a means of illustrating the NewVillager mythology, a system of thinking, which is partially “found” and partially created by the group and their collaborators. In an interview with the band, they describe their mythos as, “not a story, but a lens to look at the world. It’s a ten-part framework of understanding the process of change. How does an object or a person or an idea go from one state to another state? It’s a question everybody asks any time anyone tries to create anything and the mythology is just our attempt at answering it.” NewVillager represents the mythology through symbols, drawings, photographs, film, and installations, all of which are documented on their website.

The band’s working methodology combines writing, producing and mixing into a unified process. For this album, they recorded 10 versions of every song, each with different melodies, chords, rhythms, production, and lyrics, in an attempt to find the best overall representation of the NewVillager mythology.

NewVillager maintains a blog, in which they describe their mythology through life experiences, photography and interviews. They have contributed drawings, music and writings to arts journals around the world, including Australia’s The Lifted Brow, HtmlGiant, and Hobart.

In 2011, NewVillager will release their debut with IAMSOUND records along with a video for their first single, “LightHouse,” and a narrative trailer for their album. In 2011, the band will build a interactive physical environment in New York City and publish a 1000 page book.

Download “LightHouse” HERE.

Friday Giveaway: Battles

You can often spot the best bands - the truly once-in-a-generation type - by their names alone. The all time greats usually come ready made with nomenclature that encapsulates their sound and ethos effortlessly. BATTLES are no exception. They are a rock group locked in conflict with the very limitations of what it means to be a rock group; conducting an all out assault on mediocrity and waging a fearsome campaign against genre conventions and pigeonholes. Their sound is that of an elite guard engaging in a series of complex sonic skirmishes. This is the sublime noise of equally talented musicians pushed to their limit - as interested in conducting synchronized audio attacks and ambushes on the listener as they are on each other.

BATTLES came together in New York in 2002 drawing together disparate strands of hardcore, avant garde tonal minimalism, neo-classical, techno and post rock, featuring drummer John Stanier (Helmet), guitarists Ian Williams (Don Caballero) and Dave Konopka (Lynx) and Tyondai Braxton. After a string of EPs, the group signed to WARP and released their debut MIRRORED in 2007.

The success of the album was immediate and profound. BBC Music called BATTLES “the best band on Earth today” and Pitchfork awarded the album an impressive 9.1, bestowing the Best New Music seal of approval on it. NME were equally enthusiastic, stating: “MIRRORED is the sort of album that the sharp rock kids will be citing as an inspiration in a decade’s time”, while TIME Magazine made it their # 7 album of the year.

If you’re already a fan of Battles or would like to become one, enter for your chance to wins this week’s prize pack from Battles including: and Ice Cream 12" with buttons, pins,posters and stickers; and a Gloss Drop LP all in a plastic Gloss Drop carrying case.

Click HERE to enter.

Get to Know: Aerie model Cintia Dicker

We entered the AE Photo Studio and right away our eyes danced across the constant motion of the model, photographers, producers, and stylists. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to interview the beautiful Cintia Dicker, the face for aerie and model of the moment. Our mission: To give you an inside, behind-the-scenes glance of a day in the life of the quintessential aerie girl!

Cintia was sitting quietly, in a white robe, her face tilted towards the bright beauty light, prepared to be blushed, brushed and photo shoot-ready. We dove right in and asked her some of the questions on our mind:

Aerie: What is your go-to accessory found in your purse this summer?

CD: Sunglasses. I have a lot of them.

Aerie: Best tip to stay toned and fit for a beach-ready bod?

CD: Work out with lots of cardio, swimming and walking on the treadmill.

Aerie: Lip gloss, lipstick, or lip balm?

CD: Nothing!

Aerie: Favorite aerie bra? Undies?

CD: Vintage Lace Bralette and Thong.

Aerie: Favorite Color of Vintage Lace?

CD: Hot Pink, White, and Light Blue

Aerie: Current favorite song that you have on repeat?

CD: “Someone Like You” by Adele --- (ours too!)

Aerie: My dream vacation location is…

CD: Mexico with friends! So beautiful and love the water.

With a bat of an eyelash and a slight flip of her gorgeous strawberry locks, the charming Cintia immediately got to work creating simply stunning photos. Beautiful, down-to-earth and humble, Cintia just goes to show that an aerie girl really is every girl!

To see more photos on Cintia at the in-studio shoot check out the album on Facebook.

Summer Tunes from John Talabot ft Glasser

It’s officially summer and we’re celebrating with some sunshine jams and beach tunes. The ultimate summer jam comes from Barcelona producer John Talabot featuring Glasser titled “Families”. Click here to listen: JOHN TALABOT / Families (Ft Glasser) by Young Turks

To hear more music from John Talabot, visit his SoundCloud page HERE.

What’s your favorite song for the summer?

Video Wednesday: Unknown Mortal Orchestra

The exciting debut from Portland three-piece, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, came out yesterday on Fat Possum. Guitarist Ruban Nielson recorded the album after relocating to Portland from New Zealand and pieced a band together, with skilled producer, Jake, on bass and a brilliant teenage drummer named Julien to fill out the band. Check out rare live footage of them performing at Different Fur studios in San Francisco for http://yourstru.ly/. Their performance of "Thought Ballune" & "Little Blu House" from the LP will air this Friday night on "The Daily Habit" on FUEL TV at 11pm EST.

“How Can U Luv Me”

Yourstru.ly Presents: UMO "How Can U Luv Me" from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

In their short career they have made such an impression with their live show that you can catch them on tour this Summer with Portugal. The Man and Yuck this Summer followed by a tour w/ Toro Y Moi in the fall (dates still being added).

UMO ON TOUR
07/14 @ UW Madison Memorial Terrace- Madison, WI w/ PS I LOVE YOU
07/15 @ MOTR Pub- Cincinnati, OH
07/16 @ The Bishop- Bloomington, IN

UMO ON TOUR W/ YUCK
07/17 @ Schubas Tavern- Chicago, IL w/ YUCK
07/18 @ Turner Hall Ballroom- Milwaukee, WI w/ YUCK
07/19 @ Varsity Theater- Minneapolis, MN w/ YUCK
07/22 @ Capitol Hill Block Party- Seattle, WA w/ YUCK
07/23 @ Biltmore Cabaret- Vancouver , BC w/ YUCK
07/24 @ Doug Fir Lounge- Portland, OR w/ YUCK
07/26 @ The Independent- San Francisco, CA w/ YUCK
07/27 @ The Independent- San Francisco, CA w/ YUCK
07/28 @ The Cellar Door- Visalia, CA w/ YUCK
07/29 @ Casbah- San Diego, CA w/ YUCK
07/30 @ Troubadour- Los Angeles, CA w/ YUCK

UMO ON TOUR W/ TORO Y MOI
09/09 @ 40 Watt Club- Athens,GA w/ TORO Y MOI
09/10 @ Hopscotch Music Festival- Durham, NC
09/11 @ Black Cat- Washington DC w/ TORO Y MOI
09/12 @ First Unitarian Church- Philadelphia, PA w/ TORO Y MOI
09/14 @ Webster Hall- New York, NY w/ TORO Y MOI
09/15 @ Glasslands Gallery- Brooklyn, NY
09/16 @ Paradise- Boston, MA w/ TORO Y MOI
09/17 @ Le National- Montreal, QC w/ TORO Y MOI
09/18 @ Opera House- Toronto, ON w/ TORO Y MOI
09/19 @ Majestic Theatre- Detroit, MI w/ TORO Y MOI
09/20 @ The Bishop- Bloomington, IN w/ TORO Y MOI
09/21 @ Grinnell College Gardner Lounge- Grinnell, IA
09/22 @ Pygmalion Music Festival- Champaign- Urbana, IL w/ TORO Y MOI
09/23 @ Midpoint Music Festival- Cincinnati, OH w/ TORO Y MOI
10/03 @ El Rey Theater- Los Angeles, CA w/ TORO Y MOI
10/06 @ Lowbrow Palace- El Paso, TX w/ TORO Y MOI
10/07 @ Club Dada- Dallas, TX w/ TORO Y MOI
10/08 @ The Mohawk- Austin, TX w/ TORO Y MOI
10/09 @ Fitzgeralds- Houston, TX w/ TORO Y MOI
10/10 @ One Eyed Jacks- New Orleans, LA w/ TORO Y MOI
10/11 @ Club Downunder- Tallahassee, FL w/ TORO Y MOI
10/13 @ Bottletree- Birmingham, AL w/ TORO Y MOI
10/14 @ Masquerade (Hell Stage)- Atlanta, GA w/ TORO Y MOI

Yoga Takes Over Times Square

Today, Times Square was taken over by YOGA! People filled the square doing yoga from sunrise to sunset on the longest day of the year, the summer solstice. We give serious credit to those participating who were able to remain calm and peaceful in the middle of a very loud location. As you can see in the last picture, AE is streaming the event on our billboard for everyone to watch. Check out some pics of the event:

GOMEZ Release Whatever’s On Your Mind

UK five-piece, Gomez, are releasing their seventh studio album, Whatever’s On Your Mind, TODAY on ATO. The band wihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifll be streaming their concert from London’s infamous Roundhouse in Camden via a live webcast in honor of the release – tune in at 4:00 PM EST/1:00 PM PST! The concert will also be streaming at Spinner.com, Relix.com, PasteMagazine.com, Jambase.com and Exclaim.ca.

Gomez will be heading out on tour through July hitting NYC’s Terminal 5 on July 14 and performing in the Dave Matthews Band Caravan plus playing select dates with the John Butler Trio. Full list of announced dates are below! Additionally, they will be hitting the small screen with performances on The Late Show with David Letterman on July 13 and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on July 25.

Serving as the follow-up to their acclaimed 2009 release, A New Tide, their forthcoming Whatever’s On Your Mind sees Gomez (Ben Ottewell, Tom Gray, Paul “Blackie” Blackburn, Ian Ball and Olly Peacock) pushing their limits in a way we have not yet heard. The band partnered up with longtime friend, Sam Farrar (Phantom Planet) to co-produce and sought out to feature other artist friends on the record, Luke Steele (Empire of the Sun, Sleepy Jackson) and Stuart Bogie (Antibalas, TV on the Radio, Iron and Wine). Whatever’s On Your Mind, finds Gomez driving forward on a beautifully lush and dynamic album. There is a fresh feeling of rebirth and awakening. One to raise a smile even from the naysayers. A broad grin from the rest of us.

LISTEN:
- Stream “Options” – the first single off Whatever’s On Your Mind.
- Download “Just As Lost As You” from SPIN.com.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Announced Tour Dates:
July 8 Kansas City, MO @ Crossroads
July 9 Minneapolis, MN @ Basilica Block Party
July 10 Chicago, IL @ DMB Caravan
July 12 Boston, MA @ The Paradise
July 14 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
July 15 Philadelphia, PA @ TLA
July 16 Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Blues Fest – LeBreton Flats Park
July 17 Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix
July 18 Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
July 20 Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre Outside*
July 21 Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore*
July 22 Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle*
July 23 Glen Allen, VA @ Innsbruck After Dark*
September 16 Austin City Limits Festival
September 29 Saratoga, California @ Mountain Winery #

* with John Butler Trio
# with Devotchka

AE in the News

The current face of Aerie, Cintia Dicker, was profiled on NylonMag.

Denise Richards and her kids were spotted at the 77kids booth at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation‘s A Time for Heroes Carnival in Los Angeles by People.com.

FashionIndie.com featured AE's mermaid cutoff shorts for men.

Finally, our fall denim video was also picked up by TheGloss.com and FashionIsGreat.com.

New Release: Black Lips

On June 7th, Black Lips released their sixth and greatest full length record Arabia Mountain, quickly working it’s way to the #1 spot on InSound and garnering a mounting avalanche of rave reviews, including a spot in Spin Magazine’s 24 Best Summer Albums. Possessed by an unparalleled ambition to entertain anything that moves, the band, already two months into their expansive world tour, are kicking off another run of tour dates that extends into August, culminating with an appearance at Chicago’s monolithic Lollapalooza festival.

Download New Direction from Arabia Mountain HERE.

Tour Dates:
(all June dates w/ Cerebal Ballzy)

6/21/11 Tucson, AZ Plush

6/22/11 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room

6/23/11 Costa Mesa, CA The Detroit Bar

6/24/11 Los Angeles, CA The Music Box
6/25/11 Pomona, CA The Glass House

7/27/11 Charlotte , N.C. Neighborhood Theatre

7/28/11 Baltimore , MD Ottobar .

7/29/11 NewYork , NY. Bowery Ballroom

7/30/11 Hoboken , NJ Maxwell's .

8/01/11 Pittsburgh , PA Mr. Small's Theatre

8/02/11 Lexington , KY Buster's Billiards & Backroom

8/04/11 St. Louis, MO The Firebird

8/5 - 8/7/11 Chicago , IL Lollapalooza

9/08/11 Raleigh , NC Hopscotch Festival

Friday Giveaway: Sick of Sarah

When the girls of Sick of Sarah jumped on the stage of Minneapolis’ prestigious 7th Street Entry on April 7th, 2010, the room was shaking with excitement. The sold-out crowd pushed to get closer, waiting for a glimpse of the ladies that had only months earlier departed for a tour across country. After touring behind their self-titled debut LP for most of 2008/2009, Sick of Sarah had built some anticipation for their homecoming, “This was our final Minneapolis show before making the new record, we felt this was the end of the first chapter, and we couldn’t wait to show everyone what was coming next,” says Lead Singer, Abisha Uhl.

That new chapter, 2205, was recorded in May at The Sonic Ranch in El Paso, TX, a studio made famous for its indie-rock clientele such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Conor Oberst, Portugal The Man, Taking Back Sunday, Trail of The Dead and its extensive amp and guitar collection including guitars from the Stevie Ray Vaughan estate.

The band’s house and rehearsal space, 2205 Grand Ave has served both as a rotating home for each member of the band over the last few years and as a central creative hub. This location has become such an important symbol to the band’s identity that every member has a tattoo “2205” on their inner wrist. The address now lends its name to the new LP, 2205. With this simple gesture, the band has taken an important part of their own lives in order to present it to old and new fans alike in the form of a wild, raucous, catchy new album. The excited Minneapolis fans at the 7th Street Entry may have given Sick of Sarah a welcome homecoming, but with 2205 the band are welcoming fans into their own home.

CLICK HERE for your chance to win a copy of 2205 and a signed poster from Sick Of Sara.

Upcoming Tour Dates:
6/24 - Loring Kitchen and Bar - Minneapolis, MN
6/26 - Loring Kitchen and Bar - Minneapolis, MN
7/8 - 400 Bar - Minneapolis, MN
7/12 - Warped Tour - Darien Center, NY
7/13 - Warped Tour - Mansfield, MA
7/14 - Warped Tour - Scranton, PA
7/15 - Warped Tour - Mississauga, ON
7/16 - Warped Tour - Montreal, QC
7/17 - Warped Tour - Hardford, CT
7/19 - Warped Tour - Milwaukee, WI
7/20 - Warped Tour - Cleveland, OH
7/21 - Warped Tour - Camden, NJ
7/22 - Warped Tour - Bugettstown, PA
7/23 - Warped Tour - Uniondale, NY
7/24 - Warped Tour - Oceanport, NJ
7/26 - Warped Tour - Columbia, MD
7/27 - Warped Tour - Virginia Beach, VA
7/28 - Warped Tour - Charlotte, NC