On Crush’s first album, there’s a collaboration with Zion. T called Hey Baby. I’ve wanted to love the rest of Crush’s music ever since I first heard this song. Hey Baby offered a pitch-perfect recreation of the early 90’s New Jack Swing sound, filtered through the lens of Michael Jackson era performance style. It’s a complete red herring in his discography, and is so fantastic that everything else has seemed somewhat undercooked — at least to me.

Skip doesn’t recreate this magic, but it does give Crush a beat to work with, which is in stark contrast to his string of mellow singles and collaborations we’ve heard over the past several months. Working with Han Sangwon, who comes from a rock background, the two have gone back a decade earlier than Hey Baby for their inspiration. Michael Jackson influences are still undeniably strong, but Skip takes its cues from the King of Pop’s late 70’s disco-soul opus, Off The Wall. Its slick groove seems instantly familiar, chugging along with a healthy dose of rhythm guitar and twinkling keys. It’s incredibly ingratiating from the very first moment, and pleasantly timeless.

Skip‘s weaker aspect is its melody, which opts for a breezy uniformity when it could have stretched itself into something far more interesting. This is a quibble I’ve had with Crush’s music in the past. He’s a gifted performer, but his melodic traits tend toward the monotonous. I’ve said it so many times that it’s becoming like a broken record, but peaks and valleys are crucial to giving a song the kind of dynamics that really help it stand out. Skip doesn’t do much to differentiate itself in this regard, but luckily its strong groove picks up much of the slack and ensures that the song is a fun listen.