Yesterday’s Ring is the sister band of renowned Montreal punk mainstays the Sainte Catherines. Sharing many of the same members, the band has paid equal homage to the country and folk music of the US and its home country over the course of three previous releases. Calling Yesterday’s Ring a Canadian version of the Pogues would not be an unfounded comparison, but there is an equal amount of Lucero and Neil Young in the mix. While the quintet does nothing to hide its Canadian background, Diamonds In The Ditch dispenses totally with songs in French, but local references still abound, juxtaposed against mariachi horns and twanging Telecasters. Love, loss and liquor all figure prominently in the proceedings. The names and places may be different, but on Diamonds In The Ditch, Yesterday’s Ring let us know that these themes are no less relevant north of the border.