Sandstorms don’t consume a caravan instantaneously. The overwhelming power of nature resides in its sense of restraint.

Like a distant mirage billowing above an ominous horizon, New Antics disarms their listeners with a quick and simple medley of key strokes to introduce “Grim Beginnings,” the final single off the Monmouth County, New Jersey outfit’s debut LP.

This effortless melody ultimately gives way to a smouldering dust devil of desert-rock, whose whispering winds whip with the grit of a psychological despair that the other shoe soon will drop.

“There’s a reason why / the more you hide / the more you feel disarmed,” laments frontman Shay Tazney, who leads New Antics into a new era following a five-year hiatus. “That the joy you’re feeling is constantly fleeting / and will just bring more harm.”

“Grim Beginnings” is a compelling bit of melancholia that invites listeners to careen through the storm wall and into a self-titled collection that lays bare a tormented intelligence; a lyrical understanding made clear over the course of 10 tracks that successes are to be enjoyed, but losing yourself in a triumph can leave you unprepared to weather nature’s market correction.

Despite the risk, “Grim Beginnings” and New Antics’ first full-length offering is a maelstrom of slow-burning conflict worth exploring at a leisurely pace. Stream and purchase the collection, which was tracked at Optimist Recording Studio in Neptune, New Jersey, below.