By Madeline Harris
Over the past month, Poolhouse’s single, “Could Be Love,” has taken its place on the podium of 2025 summer hits. In the first week of June, a series of viral videos skyrocketed the song to widespread recognition, reaching the eyes and ears of millions — and establishing Poolhouse’s presence as yet another Utah-based musical success.
Poolhouse has been a prominent name in the local scene for years and consists of high school friends Jake Buckner (vocals and guitar), Jonny Steed (guitar), and Lucas Olivier (bass), and the band’s newest edition, Tate Cope, on drums. Just before this year’s Kilby Block Party, the group began to tease both new singles and the potential of their highly anticipated debut album. In April, “Nvm” hit the scene flaunting their new, punkier approach, and as fate would have it, this direction would be met with unprecedented positive feedback.
Poolhouse later released the nostalgic earworm, “Could Be Love” — which recalls the humorous self-deprecating lyrics of Y2K punk with its chorus: “Thank god I’m a loser.” — and within a couple of weeks, they were responding to comments from Spotify and Wheatus. Shortly after their epic KPB set in the rain, the algorithm picked up the song and deemed it worthy of internet-wide attention.
The song was enthusiastically discussed and reimagined by @rachelruffcuyl on TikTok, who tweaked the arrangement, added some “punch” and sent it back off into the zeitgeist. Rachel’s substantial following were exposed to Poolhouse via this video on May 31, and only a week later, it repped a staggering 3 million views.
“It’s funny because ever since the very start [of the band], Jake would call me and be like ‘dude we’re blowing up!’ and our post would be at, I don’t know, like 200 views,” Oliver says. But as the week unfolded, and the numbers continued to climb into the millions, it was clear “Could Be Love” had a different kind of flare.
Rachel’s vision for the song likens it to a modern “Teenage Dirtbag” and brings to the mix the kind of 2000s nostalgia that seems to hit the spot every summer. The original song in and of itself already possesses a “unicorn chorus” that is hard to forget, but Rachel’s commentary on its potential set the stage for the events to come. “It was surprising, for sure,” Buckner says regarding Rachel’s viral video, “but when we first saw the video, I mean, we’re never not open to anything, if that makes sense. We’ll try anything!” Buckner was also immediately fond of Rachel’s vision, commenting, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
This open-mindedness was remarkably well-received by internet bystanders, who eagerly kept tabs on the developing dynamics between Rachel and the band. The several back-and-forth videos were met with thousands of supportive comments, rooting for the collaboration and thanking all involved for the potent pangs of ’90s nostalgia exuding from the song. In the days following, the group began to tease about the release of “Could Be Love – Rachel’s Version,” but doing so required sleepless nights and rapid collaboration.
“It was going to be hard,” says Buckner. “We were out of town doing a gig at the time, and we were just getting blasted with comments to do it. So me and Johnny just drove straight through the night, started recording it right as we got home, and just worked that whole day.”
The urgency with which they handled rerecording was precisely why so many fans were so invested, and is a testament to how to maneuver the internet with grace and swiftness. Only three days after the initial video, things took yet another turn as Poolhouse contacted Rachel and proposed the idea of flying her out to meet in person.
Buckner commented on this rendezvous: “It was like 9 PM for her, and we were like, ‘Okay, your flight’s going to leave at 6 AM tomorrow,’ and she was down.” Poolhouse dropped “Could Be Love – Rachel’s Version” exactly one week after the initial video, and fans were stoked to see the band jamming with her in person. It was the lighthearted, enthusiastic cooperation needed to “restore faith in the internet,” as many fans noted in their comments.
The group looks forward to playing the song live and experimenting with the two versions. They like both, and so do the listeners. The original has more streams at present (and was even endorsed by Wheatus themselves), though Rachel’s isn’t far behind. When performing “Could Be Love” live, the band jokes that they’ll “start playing one and see what the crowd starts singing. Maybe switch it up.”
Either way, both versions have been a smashing success and triumphant start to the band’s summer. The song takes the listener back to summers of decades past, recalling the sounds of Weezer and incorporating the nerd-rock (or in this case, loser-rock?) undertones that are beloved by so many.
“I think the best part about the whole thing,” Buckner says, “is that fans are now calling themselves losers. Maybe we’ll make some merch that just says ‘loser.’”
The situation has given the band a tremendous amount of traction and momentum leading up to their album, which is set to drop this summer.
As it turns out, it’s a good summer for losers.
We look forward to more music from Poolhouse this summer. In preparation for their debut album, check out both versions of “Could Be Love” and be sure to follow the band in Instagram for updates!