• POP

MICHAEL JOHNS

Hold Back My Heart

Downtown/Fontana

***

Aussie Michael Johns couldn't parlay his photogenic stage presence and facility for turning old Dolly Parton and Queen tunes into fresh, soulful laments on American Idol into better than an eighth-place finish in 2008. Even Jason Castro finished four positions higher. Bad voters!

Yet Johns, along with fellow Season 7 finalist Brooke White (fifth place, with a fine post-Idol album of her own due July 21) both prove what has become an Idol truism: Winning only means you have to sing the cheesy pop song Idol producers scrounge up for you. The real winners tend to be the also-rans who have been able to craft distinctive music that transcends Idol's pre-fab formula.

Johns parades his Stax Records- and Tom Jones-loving influences all over the frisky, gritty and soulful Hold Back My Heart on tracks like Feeling Alright, Fire and Little Bear. His only misstep is to include an unnecessary cover of the Bee Gees' To Love Somebody. Otherwise, Johns, White and, earlier this year, R&B songstress Melinda Doolittle, have all made music stores safe again for discriminating adults in the American Idol era.

-- HOWARD COHEN

hcohen@MiamiHerald.com

• ROCK

INCUBUS

Monuments and Melodies

Epic

***

The greatest hits compilation is often a death knell for artists: A sign of withering fame, or a contractual obligation to get off a record label. But for Incubus, Monuments and Melodies is none of the above. Instead, it's a statement of strength -- a logical stopgap before the next studio release. Besides hit singles, the two-disc, 26-song set includes two new tracks and a plethora of rarities and B-sides. Incubus staples like Drive,Wish You Were Here,Megalomaniac and Anna Molly are present, although Monuments ignores most of the band's heavier, funkier material that preceded the 1999 breakout album, Make Yourself.

Black Heart Inertia, the first single, is surprisingly straightforward musically, ditching much of the spacey, moody soundscape found in most of Incubus' best-known songs. This allows room for singer Brandon Boyd to exhibit his vocal range and songwriting abilities, and underrated guitarist Mike Einziger to let loose with a fiery solo.

Although the second disc is advertised as featuring ''unreleased'' material, much of it has been available on the group's DVDs, on iTunes, and in versions recorded live in concert. While most of these songs, including the folky title track, the dynamic Look Alive and the surprisingly faithful cover of Prince's Let's Go Crazy stand their ground against the hits, the out-of-place, half-rapped Martini and the uninteresting While All The Vultures Feed weigh down the otherwise strong compilation.

For Incubus fans wondering if Monuments is worth a purchase, the physical copy comes with a download code for access to hundreds of rare audio files, videos and photographs on the band's website. For newcomers to the group, the album provides an almost perfect retrospective for one of the most talented and musically compelling mainstream rock groups of the last 10 years.

-- ADRIAN RUHI

aruhi@MiamiHerald.com

THE PHENOMENAL

HANDCLAP BAND

The Phenomenal Handclap Band

Friendly Fire

** ½

Although it shares NYC dance-club roots with LCD Soundsystem and !!!, the Phenomenal Handclap Band is less interested in writing manifestos and punk-funk workouts than in celebrating disco glamour and sexy soundtracking. DJs-turned-producers Daniel Collas and Sean Marquand and their six bandmates emphasize breadth on their debut, from the Scissor Sister-ly All of the Above to the psychedelic slow jams Testimony and Baby to the perky, irresistible 15 to 20, which takes cues from the Tom Tom Club. It's anchored by a steady disco pulse, breathy flutes and spacey keyboards.

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