El Paso dream pop trio Cigarettes After Sex headlined St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday night.

No, that’s not a typo. Not only is there a band with such a terrible name, they’ve managed to grow a youthful, goth-leaning cult following despite almost zero visibility outside of that core audience.

Led by 41-year-old Greg Gonzalez — who sings, plays guitar and writes and produces the group’s music — Cigarettes After Sex specialize in making atmospheric songs that dabble in shoegaze and ambient music. The most obvious comparison would be the ’90s group Mazzy Star, whose song “Fade into You” still lingers in the collective consciousness thanks to its heavy use in film and television shows.

And when I say specialize, I mean it. Cigarettes After Sex’s songs pretty much all unfold at the same glacial pace, drowned in reverb with gently delivered vocals from Gonzalez. And, well, they pretty much all sound the same, too. “K.,” a 2016 single, was the liveliest number of the set and you could still fall asleep to it.

Instead of an opening act, the trio offered an obviously curated series of songs accompanied by graphics (and occasionally music videos) on the screens on either side of the stage. The eclectic mix of artists — Chris Isaak, the Flamingos, Moody Blues, Everything but the Girl, Selena — very much set the chill mood for the evening.

After Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence” played over the loudspeakers, the trio emerged from the darkness. They played on a sparse rectangular stage with lights around the perimeter that were often pointed upward, giving the illusion of a theatrical scrim.

Gonzalez spent most of the show standing center stage, crooning his tunes and barely moving. Bassist Randall Miller played in the shadows to his left, as did drummer Jacob Tomsky to his right. The crowd greeted each song with the type of lustful screams usually heard at boy band concerts, but otherwise swayed gently in reverence, occasionally waving their lit-up mobile phones in the air. (That said, their 2017 single “Sweet” was one of several to earn some mid-song screaming.)

To be certain, Cigarettes After Sex have crafted an extremely specific sound, look and mood and they absolutely delivered that during Tuesday night’s 85-minute show. The crowd of about 8,000 suggested the Armory, where they played last year, would be the better fit than a half-empty hockey arena. Then again, maybe all that extra space added to the whole aesthetic Gonzalez and company are going for.

Related Articles

‘Weird Al’ Yankovic books outdoor show at Treasure Island Casino in June

Last chance: At new 825 Arts, ‘Divas & Drag’ pairs professional opera singers with drag and burlesque artists to explore ‘big emotions of how the music makes you feel’

Minnesota Sinfonia sets October dates for final concerts in St. Paul and Minneapolis

A Perfect Circle, Primus and Puscifer to play joint tour that stops at Xcel Energy Center in June

‘Field of Bands’ fundraiser to aid veterans and troops