Watch Toro Y Moi Give A Random, Deeply Entertaining Ellen Performance
Sometimes, Ellen DeGeneres clearly books musical guests on her daytime talk show because they’re super-famous and they’ll get a lot of attention. But sometimes, she books them because she’s clearly into their music and she wants to have them on her show. (And sometimes, I’m sure, it’s some combination of the two.) Today, on a show that was mostly devoted to Avengers: Endgame castmates Scarlett Johansson and Brie Larson, Ellen had one of those beautifully random musical guests: Toro Y Moi, chillwave survivor and bedroom-pop chameleon. It ruled.
Toro Y Moi released the funky, beat-driven new album Outer Peace earlier this year. And introducing the band, Ellen DeGeneres said that the album was “voted most likely to be played on repeat here.” On the show, Chaz Bundick and his bandmates, standing in front of an old-school psychedelic backdrop, did “Ordinary Pleasure,” the sidelong disco jam with the rubbery bassline.
Toro Y Moi has clearly become a better live show ever since Bundick stepped out from behind his keyboard. On Ellen, he showed real swagger. He rocked a white turtleneck, with some sparkly stars on his face, which is the sort of thing that you have to be confident enough to pull off. He showed off some slick dance moves. He did the classic Ellen thing where he went out in the crowd and high-fived people. He generally looked like he belonged there, and it was cool to see. Watch it below.
Outer Peace is out now on Carpark. You’re all going home with a copy.