Hooks are to pop music what grooves are to funk: the bread and butter, the sine qua non. And like a groove, a hook is much more easily felt than explained. It's all about pith and melody, being catchy without sounding overly clever, and Adam Reichmann has the knack in a big way. His bandmates in Nadine are all imaginative musicians, able to put a sweet twist on any hook, and Reichmann gives them plenty to twist up with his irresistible turns of melody and haunting lyrics, like: "Places I walk/The sun doesn't touch/I never asked the world for much." His hooks, both musical and verbal, are all the more powerful for their vulnerability. It's easy enough to make aggression and power chords stick (c.f. "Iron Man," Black Sabbath); it's a little trickier to get honest self-disclosure attached to a wistful melody to take up residence inside your bones. But listen closely to Nadine, and Reichmann's hooks, with the help of the band's sympathetic imagination, will move in with your marrow.