On July 29, 2007, as a part of the 'Everybody Hurts' tour, Angels & Airwaves played the studio versions of four new songs from I-Empire to their fans.
From late January to mid-March 2008, the band embarked on their headlining North American tour, playing sold-out theaters with Meg and Dia, Ace Enders and The Color Fred.
"Secret Crowds" was chosen as the second single from I-Empire, although "Call to Arms" was also considered, after receiving lots of positive feedback and decent digital sales.
[6] On February 25, "Secret Crowds" aired on MTV2, being the band's second single from the album to hit commercial heights with a music video.
The re-pressing of I-Empire as well as the other albums in the collection are 180 gram transparent LPs each with their own individual o-card slipcase that feature a double-sided die cut "AVA" logo.
[8] Evan Sawdey from PopMatters said that despite the lyricism of the tracks feeling generic, he praised DeLonge for creating "grandiose pop-rock with a healthy dash of New Wave" that's far away from the aesthetics of his project's debut effort.
"[15] Aubin Paul of Punknews.org praised the scaling back of length throughout the track listing that allowed for immediacy in its hooks and melodies, saying that it makes for "a better album, and Angels & Airwaves [is] a better band.
"[16] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it "an easier record to like than We Don't Need to Whisper," commending DeLonge for giving his tracks more catchy hooks and immediate attention to the listeners but felt he was in a musical growing phase when crafting more mature content, concluding that "it marks a very small, very tentative progression toward [DeLonge] realizing that he can expand his sonic and emotional horizons without abandoning the pop songcraft that remains his greatest strength.
"[10] Scott Evil of NME said of the album as a whole: "Angels & Airwaves labour under the illusion that ‘mature’ equals ‘worthwhile’; and that means long, directionless songs swathed in echo pedals and factory-set keyboards.
[18] All lyrics are written by Tom DeLonge; all music is composed by Angels & AirwavesAdapted credits from the liner notes of I-Empire.