The Relatives are a Dallas psychedelic-soul and gospel-funk band that formed in the '70s. They released a few singles and shared stages with The Staple Singers and The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi before vanishing. But after the good folks at Heavy Light released a compilation of their limited recordings (Don’t Let Me Fall) in 2009, the band regained lost traction and finally recorded a debut album—43 years after forming. The Electric Word opens with the aptly titled “Things Are Changing.” It starts with soul-saturated singing between brothers (and holy men) The Reverend Gean West and The Reverend Tommie West. Punctuated by the timeless tones of guitarist Zach Ernst from Black Joe Lewis, the song unfolds into a hard-grooving funk number with late-‘60s acid-rock leads and groovy organ parts before “Let Your Light Shine” erupts with bellbottomed wah-wah pedal over a loose and juicy rhythm section that sounds borrowed from Funkadelic. The Relatives' penchant for timeless, soulful psychedelic funk extends into “Bad Trip” and the moody standout “Revelations.”