Song You Need: John FM’s “White Science” is vintage soul with a mutant heart

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Young love can be derailed by many things, be it a change of heart, moving away for college, or simply the bleak reality that dating a teenage boy inevitably brings with it. The doomed high school romance John FM sings about on "White Science" is a little darker than that as he recalls a girl becoming distant when her parents found out he was Black. The Detroit-based producer and vocalist appears in good spirits about the memory though, bringing levity and wit to the front as if recounting the story to friends at a party.

Singing over a lo-fi funk beat, John FM sets the scene of two star-crossed lovers drawn together but for whom circumstances are set to crush their dreams. A voice taking on the role of his girlfriend breaks the news in a slick R&B melody. "My daddy doesn't like who you are, babe. My mom and I, we're hardly speaking." John FM's response is simple: "Well, ain't that a shame."

The funk and soul influences on "White Science" feel as playful as they are reverant; think Andre 3000 on The Love Below or, more recently, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak's luxuriant Silk Sonic. John FM isn't joking though, merely operating on the razor-thin line between homage and parody. It's a highly skilled balancing act that he pulls off by committing to the bit and breezing past the deeper meaning.