Local musician Julie Chow is quite an ambitious songwriter, as shown on her latest release. Centered on intimate acoustic aesthetic, the record is a concept album that is loosely based on the color wheel. Each song has a color in the title, with the lyrics often evoking quite visceral images of these colors and their relations to the surrounding world.

The album is a very unique experience like nothing else you will hear from local musicians. In fact, the record seems to be more interested in sonic experimentation than meeting any sort of pop music standard. A ton of synthesis and effects are used on the tracks to manipulate the sounds, and inorganic noises are present throughout -- including eerily pitch-shifted voices and even the sound of a spoon knocking against glass in a specific instance. This does add to the ambience and charm of the record, but it can also be a bit distracting to a listener as the modifications sometimes overpower the actual core content of the album.

That being said, the songs are listenable, imaginative and insightful. One particularly good track is "Yellow Girl," a young woman's reflection on what it means to be "Chinese American." Wheel of Fortune is a very interesting piece of music, one that is quite impressive for a locally self-released CD.