“99 percent of people don’t get to achieve the success that we’ve had,” Brad Tursi acknowledges in a new interview with Taste of Country about his solo project, Parallel Love.

He is, of course, talking about his band Old Dominion: Arguably the most successful country group of the past decade. They’ve achieved country radio success with hits like “Break Up With Him,” “No Such Thing as a Broken Heart,” “Make it Sweet” and “One Man Band.” They’re awards show darlings, winning ACM Group of the Year for seven years running and CMA Vocal Group of the Year for six.

But as Old Dominion continue their hit-making trajectory, Tursi is also exploring more introspective avenues with the release of a solo album, Parallel Love, which arrives on Friday (July 19).

In addition to the ability to put his vocal stamp on the album — Tursi’s role in Old Dominion is lead guitarist, while his band mate Matthew Ramsey is the primary singer — he says that Parallel Love gave him the chance to hone in on a less overtly commercial sound.

“It’s just kind of a little more artistic, a little more of a slow burn type of vibe,” he describes. “Not that we can’t do that with Old Dominion. We’re just a little more pop-leaning, [focused on] crafting these hit-y, catchy songs. Where I go naturally is not there. It’s a little more James Taylor, you know, more folky and acoustic.”

As an example, he points out the three “Oh Darlin'” interludes on the album: Each under a minute and a half, the interludes are placed as an introduction, intermission and outro to the album. Tursi says that “Oh Darlin'” was originally one full-length song, written about the grind and loneliness of the road life that he’s been living for the past two decades.

“Actually, it was my girlfriend’s idea,” he says of the decision to break up the song into three parts. “She was like, ‘You should make that into an interlude.'”

The result is a peek into the quieter parts of superstardom: The long drives between tour venues, the weariness of living out of a suitcase and the anxiety of wondering if all the travel will damage the relationships left back home.

Related: Here’s What Old Dominion Require Backstage at Every Show

“You’re inherently gone if you’re a musician,” Tursi explains, “so you hope that when you come back, the person [that you love] is — that you haven’t been so far removed that they look at you differently, or you look at them differently, or you’re no longer compatible.”

For as much as Parallel Love is about self-exploration, it’s also intently focused on relationships. The title track is named after a concept that Tursi says he thinks he “read in a self-help book or something,” and which speaks to the ways two people can grow together through the years, supporting each other but not relying on each other for survival.

“Sometimes they’ll be seeing eye to eye, sometimes they won’t. Sometimes they’ll be more in love than other [times.] They’re there to support each other and not become intertwined with each other,” he says. The term can work to describe any kind of relationship, from romantic love to friendship and work partnerships, and even with his Old Dominion bandmates.

“That’s what I mean, yeah. And also with friends,” Tursi continues. “… It works in friendship, it works in music and it works in relationships. So it just felt like, ‘Okay, it’s right to call it [Parallel Love].'”

Tursi says that his Old Dominion bandmates have known for years that he was writing and recording his own songs, but admits he caught them by surprise when he told them it was coming out as an album on Sony, the same label that releases Old Dominion’s music.

“I think it maybe caught them off guard a little bit,” he says. “But I reassured them I had no plans of leaving the band or anything.”

Plus, all of the Old Dominion bandmates grew up loving groups like Pearl Jam and the Eagles, bands that have pursued multiple different kinds of musical endeavors, and frequently experimented with genre and configuration. Tursi says that as much as Old Dominion thrives in a commercial country arena, he thinks it’s a possibility that they might even want to pursue more singer-songwriter-focused avenues as a group one day.

“We look at bands like Radiohead — they were like, they went in the opposite direction. They had a giant hit and they were like, ‘Well, we don’t want to do that anymore.’ And they made their own way,” he relates.

“I’d love for our band to do more of that, to stretch out. ‘Cause we all come from rock backgrounds and other things,” Tursi continues. “I think as a band we’re capable of doing more in different [musical styles.] So hopefully we’ll do that one day. But I also think we’re very happy continuing to stick in our lane and make the music that got us here.”

Brad Tursi, Parallel Love Tracklist:

1. “Oh Darlin'” (Intro)
2. “Church Bells and Train Whistles”
3. “Question the Universe”
4. “Where You Been”
5. “Parallel Love”
6. “Oh Darlin'” (Interlude)
7. “Crazy Life”
8. “Lover and a Friend”
9. “Afraid to Lose”
10. “Oh Darlin'” (Outro)

Carena Liptak is an Associate Editor and staff writer at Taste of Country. She specializes in breaking country music news, interviews and lists. In particular, she’s got a soft spot for sad songs — check out her roundup of the 50 Saddest Country Songs of All Time!