SOJA has released Without Surrender, a 14-track album that reconnects the Washington, D.C.-area band with its roots-reggae foundation while opening the door to a large group of collaborators from across the modern reggae and alternative-rock worlds.
The album arrived July 31 through ATO Records and is SOJA’s first full-length studio release since Beauty in the Silence, the 2021 record that later earned the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.
Without Surrender begins with “Highway” and moves through a guest-heavy sequence that includes Kolohe Kai on “We All Need Love,” The Elovaters on “Water,” Kabaka Pyramid on “World That We’re Livin In,” and 311 frontman Nick Hexum on “Catching Up to You.”
A wide circle of collaborators
Iration appears on “Whisper,” Brazilian singer Di Ferrero joins “Time Won’t Wait,” HIRIE contributes to “Nothing Lasts Forever,” and Maoli appears on “Did I Wait Too Long.” The track list closes with “Rush.”
The breadth of those collaborations reflects the community SOJA has built during more than two decades of touring. The band has long worked across roots reggae, island music and alternative scenes rather than treating those worlds as separate lanes.
SOJA marked the release with an August 1 album-release concert at the Plaza Stage at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The home-region celebration featured Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Mihali, Dale and the ZDubs as special guests.
The album campaign began months earlier with songs including “We All Need Love,” “Did I Wait Too Long,” “World That We’re Livin In,” “Highway” and “Time Won’t Wait.” Together, the advance tracks showed that the record would balance SOJA’s familiar rhythmic foundation with different vocal pairings and production textures.
For longtime listeners, Without Surrender also represents a return after a substantial gap between studio albums. SOJA continued releasing acoustic material and singles after Beauty in the Silence, but this is the band’s first new full-length collection in nearly five years.
The complete album is available digitally, with physical editions also planned through ATO Records. Its 14 songs place collaboration at the center without moving away from the melodic songwriting and socially conscious reggae sound that built SOJA’s audience.
