Pitchfork

Gentlecore mavens Kings of Convenience refuse to go quietly from the indie rock spotlight. Determined to turn pensive self-reflection into makeout music, the acoustic Bergen, Norway-based duo has announced they will release an album of remixes and guest performances of songs from their Quiet is the New Loud LP, on October 30th on Source/Astralwerks. Titled Versus, the record promises a subtly different take on the hushed, bossanova flavored acoustic folk-pop that characterized their preceding full-length, but the guess here is that it will still be hushed. Among the guests are Four Tet, fiddling with "The Weight of My Words," Andy Votel, tweaking "Winning the Battle, Losing the War," and Ladytron, reimagining "Little Kids." Also included are a couple of honest to goodness covers of KOC tunes, from Bergen's Evil Tordivel, and XL unsuccesses Alfie.

But don't look for Kings of Convenience at a venue near you. The duo have cancelled their US tour "due to the unstable situation in the world" and citing concerns about flying within the US. That fact that Anthrax, in a rare press conference Monday, said it had "more important targets in mind" has not altered the duo's decision.