Giant Drag was formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2003 by singer and guitarist Annie Hardy, and drummer and keyboardist Micah Calabrese. The duo began by touring as a two‑person act, with Micah Calabrese handling bass via synthesizer while drumming, a distinctive element of their early sound. Their first release, the EP Lemona, appeared in 2004, followed by the debut studio album Hearts and Unicorns in 2005 on Kickball Records, a subsidiary of Interscope. The single "This Isn't It" was issued in 2006, but Interscope subsequently dropped the band, and Micah Calabrese departed. Annie Hardy continued to record, and in 2013 the self‑released album Waking Up Is Hard to Do was released through Full Psycho Records, marking the first full‑length album of original material since 2005. In 2014 the EP Band Car was issued via Bandcamp. In 2020, while quarantined in London, Annie Hardy recorded a third studio album at The Albion Rooms with former Klaxons singer Jamie Reynolds. Giant Drag’s releases have maintained a niche presence within alternative rock, with Hearts and Unicorns and Waking Up Is Hard to Do receiving critical attention, though the band has not achieved mainstream chart success.
