At Worship Leader, they stated that the "Beautiful acoustic guitar and a haunting and hollow piano tone are the first musical touches you hear on Noel", and on that "Noel is basically its permanent home, in quality and uniformity of sound."[1] Sarah Fine of New Release Tuesday wrote that this was a "very simplistic Christmas project with very few bells and whistles", and noted that "it does serve as the perfect album for intimate moments of praise by the fire this holiday season."[2] At Indie Vision Music, Jonathan Andre compared the musical style here to the likes of Andrew Peterson and Steven Curtis Chapman.[3]
Noel garnered generally positive reception by music critics. At Worship Leader, they rated it four stars, and wrote that the artist was "warm and welcoming", which they compared the album to "a sonic mug of mulled cider."[1] Sarah Fine of New Release Tuesday rated it the same, and she declared that it came in as expected, which was "simple, airy and chock-full of cozy, holiday warmth."[2] At Indie Vision Music, Jonathan Andre rated the album three stars, and commented that "From reflective melodies and heartfelt hopeful inspirations, Josh is able to utilise his musical ability to carve out songs that will hopefully remind, transform and encourage listeners to see beyond themselves this December holiday."[3] Emily Kjonaas of Christian Music Zine rated it three stars, and said it was simply "a good record."[4]
