Dylan Gardner hit it big a few years back with his YouTube sensation: a cover of The Beatles’ Abbey Road in its entirety, playing just 15 seconds of each song. Dylan’s look (his haircut in particular) just screams “Beatles,” and his musical style is obviously inspired by the upbeat side of The Beatles’ discography we all know and love, but it doesn’t seem to go much deeper than that.

There are multiple facets to the genre of pop music. Dylan Gardner certainly proves this, because although his debut album Adventures in Real Time isn’t completely electronic or synth-laden, it’s about as poppy as they come.

Other than the two songs on this whole record that have a slower, moodier vibe than the others (“The Actor” in particular), every song is nearly the exact same tempo. All these songs also feature the same instrumental cliches that grace nearly every modern pop-rock song: acoustic guitars, pianos, tambourines and hand claps. It certainly puts you in a good mood the first time you hear it, but gets a little redundant after the 8th time. It definitely seems reminiscent of a circa-2010 Never Shout Never release, but with even less edge.

Despite his generic tendencies and repetitive sound, I do have to admit that Mr. Gardner is certainly consistent. Each track is produced well and executed in a solid fashion. As a whole, this album is thick with reverb, as well as pleasantly-hazy vocal deliveries. Gardner is young, and I hope he is working out some of the kinks in his sound. As an already accomplished multi-instrumentalist and self-producer, he definitely has potential to do great things. I’ll be honest: this album wasn’t my cup of tea. But from an objective standpoint, it definitely has musical value, especially if you’re looking for a fun, easy listen. Because I’ve been getting complaints about how my reviews are always negative, I’ll go so far as to give Adventures in Real Time a light 6 out of 10 stars, but that’s as generous as I’m gonna get.