OneRepublic is a band of five completely different guys, who somehow manage to get along. That’s what artist Willo Perron, who worked on the album art for OneRepublic’s upcoming record Native, said after having one dinner with them.

He was asked to follow the band for three months, to become a fly on the wall and figure out what the common thread was between the guys since they couldn’t for the life of them figure it out themselves.

Frontman Ryan Tedder admitted to Radio.com that looking at the band, you wouldn’t think they’d have much in common, but somehow they connect on a musical level. And they’re going to keep looking that way, since no matter how hard they try, they just won’t wear matching outfits.

“We’ve tried the whole dressing like a band thing, looking more homogenous like Coldplay or The Hives,” he said. “The whole uniformed thing that a bunch of different bands have taken on looks absurd and feels awkward.”

Perron told Tedder and the rest of the band that they should embrace their differences. “He’s like…‘I feel like it’s five distinct animals that have no business being together,’” the frontman explained. That’s where the idea of the album cover–a Technicolor menagerie of wild animals–came from.

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