Afghan Whigs, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists: Astoria, London

IN THE week that Melody Maker celebrates the seductive nature of the dance beast, Kim Salmon And The Surrealists remind me exactly why rock is edging ever nearer to extinction. They're three sullen, skinny figures grouped around the ex-frontman of veteran Australian psychedelic outfit The Scientists, and their wah-wah overdrive seems to date from a gentler, pre-grunge era when Thee Hypnotics were about as mucky as we got. They're like Free without the tunes, The Fuzztones without the adrenalin, and their formless, flailing racket soon drives me to the bar.