Earlier this year, TAEYANG made his long awaited solo comeback with the single VIBE (which featured JIMIN from BTS). Fast forward a quick three months, TAEYANG makes a speedy return (relative to his comeback prior to VIBE) with the title track Seed. Alongside Seed, TAEYANG also released a performance video for the side track Shoong! (which features LISA from BLACKPINK), which I will review later on. Both tracks are featured on his new second mini-album, Down to Earth.

Seed is a stunning ballad, instrumented beautifully by piano. As the song progresses, we hear the emergence of guitars, orchestral strings and even band instrumental as part of the final chorus. But throughout the length of Seed, the piano has a constant presence in the song, which keeps the song consistent and allows the same feelings that you get from beginnings of Seed to come through the latter parts of the song. Now, you might think that what I have described thus far is pretty generic. And to a degree, you are right – the instrumental doesn’t really deviate much from a standard ballad. But what really makes Seed standout from other ballads is the heavy amount of emotions and sincerity that you can tell TAEYANG poured into the song, and that also pours out of the song. The few listens I have given Seed tonight required me to stop with whatever I was doing to take it all in (even as I am writing this review!). And it is these type of ballads that really captivate you are the good ones. The choruses in particular were the most captivating sequences of the song. Obviously, the emotions could not have been as heartfelt had it not been for TAEYANG’s vocals, which were outstanding and also nostalgic for me. His tone was just so comforting and warming. Overall, Seed is an amazing ballad that showcases TAEYANG’s artistic abilities.

The music video felt quite fitting for the song. While I am not exactly sure of the connection between the different scenes or cinematography used with the song, the overall vibes of both were in tandem with one another. And paired with the song, the video ends up becoming quite captivating, as well. There was one scene in the video that stood out to me. That was the scene with the five kids playing at the beach (and I believe there was another shot with Taeyang in the foreground and four figures in the background). I wonder if this is a hint towards BIGBANG, which used to be a five member group.

Song- 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.6/10