It's obvious that Noel does not have the goal to reach the widest audience possible with his new record.
He wants to release something he is proud of.
But he does not want to force it on everyone.
He does not have to proof anything (in contrast to Liam) because his solo career already is a huge success with the first two records.
He will do some promotion the closer the release date comes, but it won't be as agressive as Liams promo was.
Liam on the other hand gave himself one last shot with his new record after his Beady Eye albums.
He knew he had to show some good numbers, so he promoted the hell out of it.
His team did a great job, and he released a pretty good album.
And great for him, the audience was there this time.