Happy new year!
First of all,I want to congratulate you on penning such a well written novel. In a swarm of so many romantic cliches your story is refreshingly different.
I can't say that I have read much novels along the same lines, so I can't really judge yours juxtaposed to others. So,I'll rather tell you what I loved about yours.
First thing,your characters are really liberal, rounded and so much more than their appearances or first impressions. Even though the story is about Noel and we get to see his issues and his personality beyond his social awkwardness still you managed to let the reader have an insight on other characters - A witty alcoholic, Chloe's situation, Jolia's kindness behind her cool and rebellious exterior and others. I mean every character, is so refreshingly complex and not flat. Your perspective is liberal about people and situations.I absolutely loved that. About the story, I really loved the theme of life and experience as a teacher and finding yourself.
I have absolutely no idea about music that you mentioned but the way you wrote about it, I didn't get bored even once. Infact, same can be said about the story I didn't get bored even once or felt the need to skip any part which I am ashamed to say but I have a habit of. It was all because of your efficient blending of description with action. Infact,Noel's passion has convinced me to checkout the mentioned songs and band. So to conclude, I absolutely loved it :)
And one more thing, I loved how you didn't feed a forced fairytale ending but rather a somewhat happy yet realistic conclusion.