Magichour, the self-titled debut release from acclaimed songwriting duo Ian Housten Shadwell and Gemma Deacon is an intricate tapestry of sounds wrapped into dreamy pop songs. Soundscapes infused with a verse chorus wisdom, and a clear love of melody. Gemma and Ian are best known as the songwriting team behind Cactus Child, the Sydney-based ensemble that played its part in that town's acoustic revival in the mid nineties. Darlings of the local music scene, they gained national airplay and toured extensively, playing festivals and supporting some great international acts including Blur and the late Jeff Buckley. Five years, three albums and close to a thousand gigs later, the band called it a day. Magichour is an album invested with the multi-layered folk and pop sensibilities that structured their earlier work, but with a new sense of space and atmospherics. It is cinematic, ambient and widescreen, with a haunting lustre that resonates on the knife-edge of beauty, found and lost.