German alternative pop quartet Wir Sind Helden formed in 2001. Drawing influence from the Neue Deutsche Welle, Wir Sind Helden recorded and self-released a five-song EP titled Guten Tag in mid-2002 and soon after scored a left-field German radio hit with the title cut. Upon signing to EMI's Labels subsidiary, the band issued its full-length debut, Die Reklamation, in the summer of 2003. Buoyed by a sold-out club tour and several well-received television appearances, the album soared to number two on the German pop charts, scoring a Top 40 hit via "Denkmal." Its 2005 follow-up, Von Hier an Blind, entered the German and Austrian charts at number one. ~ Jason Ankeny