Omaha-based indie rock band Bad Self Portraits has announced the upcoming release of their full-length debut album I Think I’m Going to Hell, arriving exclusively on vinyl August 26th through the Buy Before You Stream initiative. The album’s lead single, “Pensive,” is out today, introducing listeners to a project rooted in raw honesty, emotional excavation, and the power of physical music in a digital age.

I Think I’m Going to Hell is an unflinching exploration of grief, mental health, religious anxiety, and family trauma – the aftermath of chaos, rendered in sharp detail. The title, drawn from Howell’s experience growing up with undiagnosed childhood OCD in a strict religious household, captures the early sense of dread that shaped her worldview. “Even when people told me I was good, I felt inherently doomed,” she shares. “It felt like I was born missing some essential information that everyone else had.”
 
That emotional weight permeates the album, from the visceral tension of “All Bark No Bite” – an unsparing portrait of Howell’s relationship with her mother, shaped by fear and emotional confusion – to the lead single “Pensive,” a character study inspired by her relationship with her partner Joel. Where Howell is spontaneous and firebrand, Joel is cautious and reasoned. The song explores their differences with warmth and clarity, reflecting on how growing up in contrasting faith environments shaped their personalities – and how those differences ultimately balance each other.
 
The band’s arrangements mirror these emotional contrasts. Bad Self Portraits blend cathartic indie rock textures with psychologically rich storytelling, shifting from whispered introspection to full-body catharsis. “We want our music to feel lived-in, like an emotional mirrorball,” Howell says. “Nothing polished – just real.”

For Bad Self Portraits – formed in 2017 by high school and college friends Ingrid Howell, Cole Kempcke, Connor Paintin, and Jesse White – this release is a reclamation. Their first album was never pressed to vinyl due to production issues, making this moment long-awaited and deeply meaningful. “Vinyl feels like a time capsule,” says White. “It’s about preserving a record of who we were when we made it.”