One of the strongest male vocalists to emerge within Korean pop in 2014 has been Amoeba Culture's Crush. Prior to establishing a solo career, Crush demonstrated his skill as a successful producer and song writer.

Crush proves his prowess extends beyond his behind-the-scenes work with the solid R&B debut album, “Crush On You”.

“Crush On You” contains eleven tracks with appearances from top Korean pop and hip hop artists. Jay Park, Dynamic Duo, Zion T., Simon Dominic, and Gray are amongst the artists who deliver special appearances on “Crush On You”.

The album opens with “I Fancy You”, a pared down and soulful track which harkens to early Chris Brown releases. The track sets the tone for “Crush On You” which is undoubtedly a R&B album.

On the track “A Little Bit”, Crush incorporates the vocals of Lydia Paek. Lydia Paek is often overshadowed by male vocalists, but her voice shines on “A Little Bit”. The track would be interesting to hear live and in a stripped down acoustic version.

“Hey Baby” features nineties synthesized percussion and high hats which inspire listeners to break in to old school dances like the “running man”. “Hey Baby” makes use of the smooth vocals of Zion T. and Crush, culminating in a song that is reminiscent of Michael Jackson at the height of his career.

The cooperative relationship between Amoeba Culture and AOMG is prevalent throughout “Crush On You”. AOMG artist Gray participates on “Whatever You Do” while Jay Park and Simon Dominic appear later on the album with the track “Give It To Me”.

Crush takes a cue from Jay Park by incorporating sexually charged vocals with jazzy musical tracks. “Whatever You Do” is an example of a song which differentiates itself from the K-Pop fray by framing the technicality of Crush's vocal range.

Kumapark is featured on the seventies revival track “I Hate Them”. “I Hate Them” incorporates jazz instrumentals and bluesy vocals. The track benefits from the addition of two classic hip hop samples which are deconstructed.

“Beautiful You” is a seventies-inspired which features rap vocals by Amoeba Culture founder and Dynamic Duo member Choiza. Rather than make the song dated, the hand claps and classic vocals of “Crush On You” add “Solid Gold” sex appeal to the track. “Beautiful You” is a standout track which evokes the best aspects of disco, inspiring listeners to do dance moves such as The Bump.

The track “Want” features earnest vocals that continue on the retro journey. By contrast, the contemporary R&B track “Hug Me” sets the tone for the conclusion of the album with its wordplay and appearance by Dynamic Duo member Gaeko. “Hug Me” is the feature track of “Crush On You” which is clearly intended to attract K-Pop fans and listeners who are familiar with the work of artists such as Jay Park.

“Give It To Me” ventures into the bedroom with lyrics such as “Baby slow down, take it, take it, slow down”. The track is one of the most vocally entrancing to appear on “Crush On You”, thanks to the vocals by Jay Park and rap by Simon Dominic. “Give It To Me” is one of the most rated songs on the album, aiding to the cross generational appeal of Crush.

Crush begins to draw the album to its conclusion with the weekend anthem “Friday”. He exhibits his strongest vocals on “Friday” and highlights the potential for future releases.

The album concludes with the track “Sometimes” which was previously released in April.

 “Sometimes” provides appropriate closure to “Crush On You”, an album that has some of the most technically strong male vocals of 2014 solo releases, so far.

Listen to the new album "Crush On You" by Crush HERE.